Dear Doctor, Your Patient Died From Opioids: Letter Writing Campaign Has Success In Altering Prescription Practices
The letters were sent to doctors of patients who came through the San Diego County medical examiner's office because of a fatal overdose. Though the effects were modest, researchers say it does show that small steps can make a difference in the battle against opioids.
The Associated Press:
Doctors Nudged By Overdose Letter Prescribe Fewer Opioids
In a novel experiment, doctors got a letter from the medical examiner's office telling them of their patient's fatal overdose. The response: They started prescribing fewer opioids. Other doctors, whose patients also overdosed, didn't get letters. Their opioid prescribing didn't change. (8/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Coroner Sent Letters To Doctors Whose Patients Died Of Opioid Overdoses. Doctors' Habits Quickly Changed
Addressed directly to the doctor, the letter arrived in a plain business envelope with a return address of the San Diego County medical examiner’s office. Its contents were intended, ever so carefully, to focus the physician on a national epidemic of opioid abuse — and his or her possible role in it. “This is a courtesy communication to inform you that your patient [name, date of birth inserted here] died on [date inserted here]. Prescription drug overdose was either the primary cause of death or contributed to the death,” the letter read. (Healy, 8/9)
The Washington Post:
Death Reports Make The Opioid Crisis Personal For Doctors
The letters were successful, although the effects were modest. Doctors who were informed of their patients' deaths were 7 percent less likely to start new patients on opioids and issued fewer high-dose prescriptions over the next three months, compared with those who did not receive a letter. In total, there was a 9.7 percent reduction in the total amount of opioids they prescribed, according to results published Thursday in the journal Science. (Johnson, 8/9)
NPR:
'Dear Doctor' Letters Reduce Opioid Prescribing
"What's important about what we've found is that you can do very simple things to change prescribing and make prescribing safer," says coauthor Jason Doctor, an associate professor of health policy and management at the University of Southern California. (Watson, 8/9)