LAUSR

OBJECTIVES To assess whether implementation of the Strengthen Opioid Misuse Prevention (STOP) Act was associated with an increase in the percent of opioid prescriptions written for 7 days or less among patients with acute or post-surgical musculoskeletal conditions. DESIGN An interrupted time series study was conducted to determine the change in duration of opioid prescriptions associated with the STOP Act. SETTING Data were extracted from the electronic health record of a large healthcare system in North Carolina. SUBJECTS Patients presenting from 2016-2020 with an acute musculoskeletal injury and the clinicians treating them were included in an interrupted time series study (n = 12,839). METHODS Trends were assessed over time, including the change in trend associated with implementation of the STOP Act, for the percentage of prescriptions written for seven days or less. RESULTS Among patients with acute musculoskeletal injury, less than 30% of prescriptions were written for 7 days or less in January of 2016; by December of 2020, almost 90% of prescriptions were written for 7 days or less. Prescriptions written for ≤ 7 days increased 17.7% after STOP Act was implemented (p < 0.001), after adjusting for the existing trend. CONCLUSIONS These results demonstrate significant potential for legislation to influence opioid prescribing behavior.