Attitudes and self-reported practices of hand surgeons regarding prescription opioid use.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Opioids are routinely prescribed after hand surgery, but there is limited research about surgeon variation in prescription patterns and attitudes toward the use of these drugs. We sought to examine hand surgeons' attitudes, beliefs, and self-reported practices regarding the use of opioids.

Methods

An invitation to an online cross-sectional survey was sent to 3225 hand surgeons across the USA via email, of whom 502 (16 %) responded. We used previously published data to compare hand surgeons' concerns about potential adverse opioid-related events with those of primary care physicians.

Results

Most hand surgeons (76 %) reported prescription opioid abuse to be a big or moderate problem in their communities, and 89 % felt that opioids are overused to treat pain.

SUBMITTER: Menendez ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4641080 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature