Care Coordination for Patients on Chronic Opioid Therapy Following Surgery: A Cohort Study

: MINI: This study sought to examine if early care-coordination between a patient's surgeon and usual prescriber of long-term opioid therapy could mitigate high-risk opioid prescribing following surgery. In this national cohort, 74.3% of chronic opioid users were exposed to episodes of high risk prescribing following surgery. Having a usual preoperative opioid prescriber and visiting this prescriber within 30 days after surgery was associated with decreased odds of having multiple prescribers in the postoperative period. OBJECTIVE: To describe if patients with chronic opioid use with a consistent usual prescriber (UP) prior to surgery and if early return to that UP ( 100 mg OME). RESULTS: In this cohort, 73.8% of patients were exposed to high risk prescribing postoperatively. Overall, 10% of patients did not have a UP preoperatively, and were more likely to have prescriptions from multiple prescribers (OR 2.23 95% CI 1.75-2.83) and new long acting opioid prescriptions (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.05-2.71). Among patients with a UP, earlier return was associated with decreased odds of receiving prescriptions from multiple prescribers (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.95). CONCLUSION: Patients without a UP prior to surgery are more likely to be exposed to high-risk opioid prescribing following surgery. Among patients who have a UP, early return visits may enhance care coordination with fewer prescribers.