Default Setting in Electronic Medical Records ‘Nudged’ Emergency Department Physicians to Limit Opioid Prescriptions to 10 Tablets

Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
For patients who have never been prescribed opioids, larger numbers of tablets given with the initial prescription is associated with long-term use and more tablets leftover that could be diverted for misuse or abuse. Implementing a default option for a lower quantity of tablets in the electronic medical records (EMR) discharge orders may help combat the issue by “nudging” physicians to prescribe smaller quantities consistent with prescribing guidelines Penn Medicine researchers show in a new study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.
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