Opioid Prescribing Trends After Guidelines - Scorecard - MDSpire

Opioid Prescribing Trends After Guidelines

Large US data set tracks postoperative analgesic use over a decade.

  • By

  • Kathryn Wighton

  • March 27, 2026

  • 2 min

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Clinical Scorecard: Opioid Prescribing Trends After Guidelines

At a Glance

CategoryDetail
ConditionPostoperative pain management following parotidectomy
Key MechanismsReduction in opioid prescriptions and increase in nonopioid prescriptions post-guideline publication
Target PopulationAdult patients undergoing parotidectomy
Care SettingUS health care organizations

Key Highlights

  • 46% of patients prescribed opioids postoperatively
  • 7% received only nonopioid medications
  • Opioid prescribing decreased by 7.44% immediately after guideline release
  • Nonopioid prescribing increased by 3.73% immediately after guideline release
  • Sustained changes in prescribing patterns observed post-guideline

Guideline-Based Recommendations

Diagnosis

    Management

    • Encourage nonopioid analgesics for postoperative pain management

    Monitoring & Follow-up

      Risks

      • Potential bias from electronic health record coding
      • Inability to capture over-the-counter medication use

      Patient & Prescribing Data

      25,076 adult patients who underwent parotidectomy

      Decreased opioid prescribing trends observed prior to guideline publication

      Clinical Best Practices

      • Adopt nonopioid analgesics as first-line treatment for postoperative pain
      • Monitor prescribing patterns to ensure adherence to updated guidelines

      References

      Original Source(s)

      Opioid Prescribing Trends After Guidelines

      • by Kathryn Wighton

      • March 27, 2026

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