title: Characteristics and outcomes of patients discharged from the Opioid Renewal Clinic at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
abstract: The Opioid Renewal Clinic (ORC) is a pharmacist-run program that assists primary care providers in the management of chronic pain patients with aberrant behavior or high risk of prescription opioid abuse. In this study, charts of all discharged patients over a 22-month span (n = 86) were reviewed for outcomes for two years after discharge. The most frequent reason for discharge from the program was recurrent positive urine drug screens for illicit substances (n = 40; 47%). Only 15 (17%) were seen for addiction treatment in the two-year follow-up period. Forty-one percent of patients (n = 35) were prescribed opioids within two years of discharge. There was a positive correlation between length of time in the ORC and receipt of opioids post discharge. These outcomes reveal areas of need in the management of this complex population.
authors.affiliation: Philadelphia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, VISN4 MIRECC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA. William.Becker4@va.gov
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.forename: Salimah H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Meghani
authors.forename: Kelly S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Barth
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Wiedemer
authors.forename: Rollin M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Gallagher
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy; D018710:Pain Clinics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010351:Patient Discharge / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012008:Recurrence; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome