TY - JOUR T1 - Better opioid prescribing in an inpatient oncology unit: quality improvement project JF - BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care JO - BMJ Support Palliat Care DO - 10.1136/bmjspcare-2021-003477 SP - bmjspcare-2021-003477 AU - Anna Weil AU - Shan Shan Vijeratnam AU - Valerie Potter AU - Jaymi Teli AU - David Feuer Y1 - 2022/01/19 UR - http://spcare.bmj.com/content/early/2022/01/19/bmjspcare-2021-003477.abstract N2 - Objectives Unsafe opioid prescribing can lead to significant patient harm and improving standards is a national priority. This report summarises a three-stage process relating to opioid prescribing, which has led to a sustained improvement.Methods Opioid prescriptions were reviewed retrospectively over a 4-year period in a tertiary cancer centre. The first audit cycle took place in 2017. When repeated in February 2020 following an opioid education programme implementation, prescribing remained poor. In September 2020, a quality improvement project (QIP) was developed with several interventions including opioid prescribing guidelines.Results The first audit demonstrated that 76% met safe prescribing and 68% best practice. The second audit showed a deterioration in prescribing, 61% met safe prescribing and 39% best practice despite the implementation of an education programme. The QIP has led to an improvement in prescribing, at 4 months, 87% met safe prescribing and 56% best practice.Conclusions Despite implementation of a medical education initiative, a marked deterioration in safe opioid prescribing occurred. A shift towards QI methodology led to a successful pilot of focused interventions and resulted in improved standards of safe prescribing. ER -