Opioid Prescribing and Patient Satisfaction Scores Across Practice Types

US physicians prescribe opioids at a high rate relative to other countries. Of the US physicians surveyed, almost half report having prescribed an inappropriate opioid due to concerns about patient satisfaction scores. We investigated patterns in controlled substance prescribing practices, patient risk factors, and associated Press Ganey patient satisfaction scores at a sample of orthopaedic surgery and primary care clinics over a 6-month time period. Primary care practices had higher proportions of prescriptions, and patient risk profiles varied across sites. However, overall satisfaction was high, with little variation between sites (78.3 – 81.3%). Satisfaction with pain control was lower and more varied (67.1 – 78.0%). A total of 4,229 Press Ganey survey responses were received, including 7,232 comments, of which only 10 (0.1%) expressed frustration for not receiving opioids. Opioid prescriptions had minimal association with Press Ganey scores among varied practices and patient populations. Prescribers should prescribe opioids appropriately without fear that this will negatively impact their satisfaction scores. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 29(1):5-9, 2020) Key words: opioid, patient satisfaction, orthopaedic surgery, primary care