Photo Credit: Andreonegin
Providing patients undergoing surgery with an opioid disposal kit at the time of discharge increases their self-disposal rates, according to a short report published in BMJ Open Quality. Eric Shan and colleagues assessed the impact of opioid disposal kits on disposal rates after orthopedic surgery. The analysis included 1,321 patients; the researchers compared disposal rates for patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty from May to July 2022 versus July to September 2022 (when opioid disposal kits were provided at discharge). The researchers found that disposal kits were associated with a 10.6 percentage-point increase in disposal rates (95% CI, -3.5% to 24.7%) and a 10.5 percentage-point increase in the fraction of opioids disposed of (95% CI, 0.2% to 20.9%). Each kit was valued at under $2.00 and was found to be cost-effective.
