The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
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J Am Acad Orthop Surg · Apr 2021
Patient Perception of Pain Control (Not Opiate Amount) Affects Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems and Press Ganey Satisfaction Scores After Orthopaedic Trauma.
Opiate abuse is a public health issue linked to prescribing. Prescribing increased partly in response to adopting pain as the fifth vital sign. Assessing pain control on patient satisfaction surveys, including government-mandated Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) and optional private surveys (Press Ganey) administered on hospital discharge, may contribute. This study evaluates whether opiate amounts affect orthopaedic trauma patient perception of pain control and overall hospital rating on HCAHPS and Press Ganey surveys. ⋯ Inpatient and outpatient opiate amounts and duration demonstrated some associations with overall scores. However, patients' pain control perception seems to have the strongest relationship with hospital rating. Counseling and multimodal pain control may lead to strong satisfaction scores without needing high opiates after orthopaedic trauma.