Opioid limits didn’t change surgery patients’ experience, study shows

The five-day limit from Michigan’s largest insurance company didn’t lead to increases in patients’ pain levels or decrease in satisfaction after common surgical procedures.

Worries that surgery patients would have a tougher recovery if their doctors had to abide by a five-day limit on opioid pain medication prescriptions didn’t play out as expected, a new study finds.

Instead, patient-reported pain levels and satisfaction didn’t change at all for Michigan adults who had their appendix or gallbladder removed, a hernia repaired, a hysterectomy or other common operations after the state’s largest insurer put the limit in place, the study shows.

Read the full story, "Opioid limits didn’t change surgery patients’ experience, study shows," on IHPI.