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Disposal rate of excess opioids rises with mailed kit
Leftover prescription opioids carry the risk of being misused and may exacerbate the current opioid epidemic. One strategy to improve safe disposal rates is to make it more convenient to get rid of the extra pills.
A research team led by Anish Agarwal and Kit Delgado mailed at-home disposal kits to patients prescribed opioids after surgery. From self-reported data, 60% of patients who were mailed kits disposed of their excess opioids, compared to 43% of patients who were only sent safe disposal locations. The process of mailing the disposal kit is simple, inexpensive, and scalable.
JAMA Network Open
April 2022 Month in Review
Each month, we round up news stories and publications about work happening across CHCI. Read the latest issue and subscribe to have the Month in Review sent directly to your inbox.
CHCI
Default order boosts hepatitis C screening rates
Hepatitis C is a major cause of cirrhosis and cancer in the United States, but screening rates for the virus are low. By making hepatitis C screening a default order for inpatients who met screening criteria – thereby removing extra steps in the ordering process – researchers found that test completion increased by 32 percentage points. The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
Penn Medicine News
Outcomes unchanged when pulse oximetry added to COVID-19 monitoring
Patients in Penn Medicine’s COVID Watch program, which uses automated text messages to remotely monitor COVID-19 symptoms, had the same outcomes whether or not they used a pulse oximeter, a device that measures oxygen levels.
Penn Medicine News
March 2022 Month in Review
Each month, we round up news stories and publications about work happening across CHCI. Read the latest issue and subscribe to have the Month in Review sent directly to your inbox.
CHCI
Colorectal cancer screening efforts receive national recognition
The National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable recently honored Penn Medicine for the health care system's work to increase colorectal cancer (CRC) screening rates among Black patients in the Philadelphia region. The Center for Health Care Innovation has played a key role in this effort, identifying and testing strategies to improve CRC screening rates.
American Cancer Society
