Comparison of Opioid Prescription Pattern Trends amongst DENTAC and Selected Departments of the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX, from 2010 to 2017.

Background: Purpose: The purpose of this Observational Retrospective Cohort is to compare opioid prescription pattern trends from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2017 amongst the Dental Health Activity (DENTAC), Obstetrics/Gynecology (OBGYN), Emergency Room (ER), and Family Medicine departments assigned to the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX. In addition, as a secondary outcome, the type of opioids prescribed will be explored during the same time frame.

Methods: An Observational Retrospective Cohort Longitudinal Archival Medical Chart Review was executed by a report collection from the Pharmacy Data Transaction Service (PDTS). Data analysis was developed with a Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) in order to compare means across multiple variables based on repeated observations. By utilizing a mix of factors model, variables within each department (Test of Within-Subjects Effects) and between departments (Test of Between-Subjects Effects) were analyzed.

Results: The statistical analysis demonstrated no significant differences within the number of pills dispensed from the DENTAC and OBGYN departments. A moderate decrease in prescription patterns at the Emergency Department and extreme decrease at the Family Medicine Department was reported. No significant differences between the number of patients and number of prescriptions dispensed were found within each department over the 8-year period. The statistical analysis showed significant differences between the Family Medicine and Emergency departments in comparison with the DENTAC and OBGYN departments. From 2010-2016, Family Medicine and Emergency Departments demonstrated a substantial decrease in opioid prescribing. The DENTAC and OBGYN departments showed a constant linear factor from 2010 to 2016 indicating minimal changes in number of pills dispensed and revealing a small decrease of pills dispensed during 2017. The most common types of opioid medication prescribed in the four departments from 1 JAN 2010 to 31 DEC 2017 were Morphine Sulfate and Hydromorphone HCL.

Conclusions: In this study, the DENTAC AND OBGYN departments did not show a significant decrease in number of opioid pills and number of prescriptions dispensed compared to the Family Medicine and ER departments. Overall, the Family Medicine department showed the most drastic change in opioid prescription patterns from 1 JAN 2010 to 31 DEC 2017 at the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Hood, TX. The most common types of opioid medication prescribed in the same period of time within the four departments were characterized by morphine and hydromorphone components.