Chronic Pain Patients' Impressions of an Emergency Department Opioid Prescribing Guideline Poster.
OBJECTIVE
To determine if an opioid prescribing guideline poster, meant to be posted in an emergency department (ED) triage area, would deter patients with chronic pain from seeking care.


METHODS
We prospectively enrolled patients presenting to a chronic craniofacial pain clinic affiliated with an urban academic Level I trauma center. Patients were surveyed with a close-ended, structured questionnaire. Included patients were aged 18 and older with pain lasting 12 weeks or longer. Patients were shown a sample pain poster. The primary outcome was determination if such a poster would prevent the patient from staying to receive care in the ED.


RESULTS
One hundred patients were surveyed. Most patients (77%) reported having been a patient in the ED in the past, and of these, 23% reported visiting the ED for worsening of chronic pain. After being shown the poster, 97% believed the recommendations in the poster were reasonable and 97% thought that the poster should be displayed in the ED. Seven patients (7%) reported that seeing the poster in the ED waiting room or triage area would intimidate them, and two patients within this group (2% of total sample) reported that it would prevent them from staying to get care.


CONCLUSIONS
The vast majority of patients with chronic pain in this cohort believes that a pain guideline poster is reasonable and should be posted in the ED. However, a small percentage of patients reported that they would feel intimidated by such a poster and that it would prevent them from staying to get care, a result meant to inform hospitals and policy-makers deciding if such posters should be displayed.
Division of Health Policy Translation, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Scott G
SG
Weiner
Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA.
Paul F
PF
Yannopoulos
Craniofacial Pain Center, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA.
Chao
C
Lu
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018710:Pain Clinics; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid
Opioids; Prescriptions