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Impact Evaluation of the Therapeutic Initiative's Prescribing Portrait and Therapeutics Letter on Opioid Use by Dentists
Sponsor: University of British Columbia
Summary
The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of providing personalized prescribing data and educational materials on opioid prescribing to dentists in British Columbia, Canada. The main research questions are: 1. What is the impact of an intervention on the use of opioids for dental pain? The intervention includes a personalized prescribing report (a "Portrait"), brief educational summary, and patient education materials; and 2. Does the impact of the intervention increase when dentists are also invited to attend facilitated audit-and-feedback group sessions and to develop a practice improvement plan? Using administrative health data, the prescribing of those in different combinations of materials in the Early Group will be compared to those in the Delayed Group to estimate the impact of the materials on prescribing by the dentists.
Official title: Impact Evaluation of the Therapeutic Initiative's Prescribing Portrait and Therapeutics Letter on Opioid Use by Dentists for Dental Pain
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
Any - Any
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
3498
Start Date
2026-01-06
Completion Date
2028-01-31
Last Updated
2026-01-08
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Regular intervention
The "regular" intervention bundle consists of a personalized prescribing "Portrait" showing dentists their opioid prescribing volume and duration over the past five years compared with the provincial median. The Portrait is accompanied by a Therapeutics Letter summarizing evidence-based recommendations for dental pain management, emphasizing that NSAIDs with or without acetaminophen provide similar or better pain control than opioids and are associated with fewer adverse events. Dentists also receive a patient education handout addressing common questions about opioid use for dental pain.
Enhanced intervention
For the "enhanced" intervention bundle, dentists receive all components of the regular intervention, plus and invitation to participate in facilitated peer audit-and-feedback group sessions to review prescribing data, identify practice gaps, develop improvement strategies, and commit to change. Participants also receive an updated personalized Portrait (updated data) at approximately six months, followed by additional facilitated sessions to review new data and reassess practice enhancement strategies.
Locations (1)
Therapeutics Initiative - Dept of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada