In 2018, opioid misuse and addiction became a focus of public health. The CDC estimated the global economic burden of the crisis was 78.5 billion dollars/year, including healthcare costs, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement. By 2017, 1.7 million people across the U.S. suffered from substance use disorder (SUD) related to prescription opioid pain relievers, and in Utah, there were 437 drug overdose deaths involving opioids in 2018. In 2018, providers in Utah wrote 57.1 opioid prescriptions per 100 persons. The problem of addiction is a treatable, chronic medical disease. In Salt Lake City, UT, primary care providers need more education about opioid misuse and addiction, especially tapering long-term opioids prescribed regularly. The Johns Hopkins Nursing Evidence-Based Practice model was utilized to askthe following question: Among primary care providers (P), does the use of the Risk Benefits Assessment Flowchart of continuing opioid use at the current dose (I) versus no tool (C) assist providers in tapering opioids or increase the prevalence of opioid use disorder over two weeks? Dorothea Orem’s Self-Care Deficit theory was used for the quality improvement (QI) project. Methods of this QI project included an inservice at a local primary care clinic with an explanation of the Risk Benefit Flowchart following the Sic Building Blocks Self-Assessment Questionnaire. The Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test was used to measure frequencies of opioid prescriptions and evidence of risk versus benefits charting in the care plan after the scholarly project. Opioid prescription statistics were gathered before and after the training. A chi-square analysis was used to evaluate the impact of the training. The prescription behavior of the clinic in question did not materially change following the training; a statistically relevant increase in prescription levels was observed. It is clear that repeated training interventions and follow-up controls would be necessary, as well as a firm commitment by the clinic leadership to bring opioid prescription practices in line with CDC recommendation.
