Changes in opioid prescription duration for musculoskeletal injury associated with the North Carolina Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act.

Abstract

To assess whether implementation of the Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act was associated with an increase in the percentage of opioid prescriptions written for 7 days or fewer among patients with acute or postsurgical musculoskeletal conditions. An interrupted time-series study was conducted to determine the change in duration of opioid prescriptions associated with the STOP Act. Data were extracted from the electronic health record of a large health care system in North Carolina. Patients presenting from 2016 to 2020 with an acute musculoskeletal injury and the clinicians treating them were included in an interrupted time-series study (n = 12 839). Trends were assessed over time, including the change in trend associated with implementation of the STOP Act, for the percentage of prescriptions written for ≤7days. Among patients with acute musculoskeletal injury, less than 30% of prescriptions were written for ≤7days in January of 2016; by December of 2020, almost 90% of prescriptions were written for ≤7days. Prescriptions written for ≤7 days increased 17.7% after the STOP Act was implemented (P < .001), after adjustment for the existing trend. These results demonstrate significant potential for legislation to influence opioid prescribing behavior.