---
title: "Effect Of Clinician Feedback Opioid Prescribing | Sutter Health"
description: "An initial opioid prescription with a greater number of pills is associated with a greater risk for future long-term opioid use"
url: "https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/effect-of-clinician-feedback-opioid-prescribing-1055312800"
---

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4.  Effect Of Clinician Feedback Opioid Prescribing

# The Effect Of Clinician Feedback Interventions On Opioid Prescribing

_Health Affairs_

2022-03-01

## Abstract

An initial opioid prescription with a greater number of pills is associated with a greater risk for future long-term opioid use, yet few interventions have reliably influenced individual clinicians' prescribing. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of feedback interventions for clinicians in reducing opioid prescribing. The interventions included feedback on a clinician's outlier prescribing (individual audit feedback), peer comparison, and both interventions combined. We conducted a four-arm factorial pragmatic cluster randomized trial at forty-eight emergency department (ED) and urgent care (UC) sites in the western US, including 263 ED and 175 UC clinicians with 294,962 patient encounters. Relative to usual care, there was a significant decrease in pills per prescription both for peer comparison feedback (-0.8) and for the combination of peer comparison and individual audit feedback (-1.2). This decrease was sustained during follow-up. There were no significant changes for individual audit feedback alone, and no interventions changed the proportion of encounters with an opioid prescription.

[PubMed abstract](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35254932/)

![Xiaowei (Sherry) Yan, Ph.D.](https://dyn.mktgcdn.com/p/NTWox_hkmxIRiqJEc5PXKeBkfR_WMtpSQbEI4J69Xls/fit=crop,gravity=auto,dpr=2,width=188,height=250,quality=100)

Xiaowei (Sherry) Yan, Ph.D.

Principal investigator

[View profile](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/investigators/xiaowei-sherry-yan-phd-1049681042)

## Research topics

-   [Addiction Pharmacology](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22Addiction+Pharmacology%5C%22%22)
-   [EHR Data](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22EHR+Data%5C%22%22)
-   [Pain](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?query=%22%5C%22Pain%5C%22%22)

## Related publications

[View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication)

-   Publication
    
    ### [Evaluating the effectiveness of email-based nudges to reduce postoperative opioid prescribing: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/emailbased-nudges-to-reduce-postoperative-opioid-prescribing-1055312819)
    
    BMJ Open
    
    2022 Sep 19
    
-   Publication
    
    ### [How Physician Self-Perceptions Affect the Impact of Peer Comparison Feedback on Opioid Prescribing](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/physician-self-perceptions-impact-on-opioid-prescribing-1055312847)
    
    American Journal of Medical Quality
    
    2023 Apr 05
    
-   Publication
    
    ### [Clinician Perceptions of Receiving Different Forms of Feedback on their Opioid Prescribing](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/clinician-perceptions-of-receiving-different-feedback-1055312905)
    
    American Journal of Medical Quality
    
    2022 Dec 29
    
-   Publication
    
    ### [Disparities in emergency department and urgent care opioid prescribing before and after randomized clinician feedback interventions](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/disparities-in-emergency-department-opioid-prescribing-1055312860)
    
    Academic Emergency Medicine
    
    2023 Mar 06
    
-   Publication
    
    ### [A shared medical appointment on the benefits and risks of opioids is associated with improved patient confidence in managing chronic pain.](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research/publications/shared-med-appt-opiods-pt-manage-chronic-pain-1055312349)
    
    Romanelli RJ, Dolginsky M, Byakina Y, Bronstein D, Wilson S.
    
    J Patient Exper 2017 May 8:1-8. doi: 10.1177/2374373517706837.
    
    2017 May 08
    

[View all publications](https://www.sutterhealth.org/research-search-results?verticalKey=research_publication)

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