Safe Opioid Storage and Disposal: A Survey of Patient Beliefs and Practices

• Published in: Journal of pain research 2020-01, Vol.13, p.987-995
• Main Authors: Gregorian, Razmic, Marrett, Elizabeth, Sivathanu, Vivek, Torgal, Mariana, Shah, Sejal, Kwong, Winghan Jacqueline, Gudin, Jeffrey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: abuse; Counseling; diversion; Drug overdose; FDA approval; Health care industry; Health care reform; misuse; Morphine; Narcotics; opioids; Original Research; Pain management; Patients; Perceptions; Pharmaceutical industry; Prescriptions; Surgery; surveys; Tapentadol
• ISSN: 1178-7090; 1178-7090
• DOI: 10.2147/JPR.S242825

To evaluate knowledge, practices, and beliefs of US patients receiving prescription opioids regarding opioid storage, disposal, and diversion. Internet-based, cross-sectional survey conducted between September and October 2018. Fisher's exact tests and Kendall's Tau-c were used to assess associations with storage and disposal outcomes. Patients aged ≥18 years with acute (n=250) or chronic noncancer (n=250) pain were prescribed an oral opioid within 90 days of the survey. Mean (SD) patient age was 48 (14.7) years, 57.2% were female, 82.6% lived with ≥1 person in the home, and 28.0% had remaining/unused pills. One-third of all patients received safe opioid storage (35.2%) and/or disposal (31.4%) counseling from a healthcare provider, while 50.0% received neither storage nor disposal information. Only 27.4% of all patients stored their opioids in a locked location, and 17.9% of those with remaining/unused pills disposed of their medication. Patients who received any opioid counseling were more likely to keep their medication in a locked location compared with those who did not (42.4% vs 12.4%, respectively;