Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, finds that total hip (THA) and total knee (TKA) arthroplasty patients could be prescribed less opioids after surgery without the need for refills. The analysis included a cohort of 120,889 opioid-naïve primary total joint arthroplasty patients aged 18 to…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers from Harvard Medical School, Boston, finds that telehealth is a comparable alternative to in-person care of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). This cohort study analyzed data on 1,768 clinicians who treated 11,801 patients with OUD via telehealth visits during COVID-19 prepandemic (March 14,…

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Editor's Note This study by researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, finds that patients participating in an Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) program were prescribed significantly fewer opioids at discharge, compared to patients before ERAS was instituted. A total of 3,983 patients were included (1,929 pre-ERAS and 2,054 post-ERAS).…

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Editor's Note This study from the University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, finds that postoperative opioid prescriptions written by advanced practice clinicians (APCs), defined as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, had higher total dosages compared with those written by surgeons. A total of 628,197 surgical procedures involving 581,387 adults…

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