Over the last five years, Hagerstown, Md.-based Meritus Health cut the number of opiates prescribed by more than 55% in its effort to quell the national opioid epidemic.
In 2018, the system created a pain management and opioid stewardship committee, which launched new opioid guidelines, according to a Jan. 22 Meritus news release.
The protocol promotes non-opioid pain management therapies and connects pain management specialists with patients who have complex pain needs. Meritus also focused on decreasing outpatient prescribing, since the highest risk for opioid misuse and addiction lies outside the hospital.
In October 2018, the average morphine milligram equivalents prescribed per encounter was 1,402 milligrams. As of December 2023, that figure fell to 625 milligrams.