SickKids’ Perioperative Opioid Stewardship Program of Research (PrOSPR) has been recognized with the highly prestigious Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) Cheers Award

SickKids’ Perioperative Opioid Stewardship Program of Research (PrOSPR) has been recognized with the highly prestigious Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) Cheers Award for its impact on the way opioids are prescribed at hospital discharge post-surgery, and how opioids are managed in the home by families.

The annual ISMP Cheers Awards honour individuals, organizations, and companies that have set a standard of excellence in medication safety

"This year's ISMP Cheers Award winners are ahead of the curve in terms of finding innovative ways to use technology to prevent medication errors," says ISMP President Rita K. Jew. "These dedicated organizations and leaders set a high bar for the rest of the health-care community to emulate." 

PrOSPR addresses overprescribing of opioids in paediatrics by minimizing the volume of unnecessary opioids entering the community, and decreasing the volume of unused opioids remaining long-term in the community. The program team identified risks, modified practice standards, evaluated interventions and outcomes, and are expanding their reach across many surgical diagnoses.

Their achievements include using technology and QI methodology to safely decrease the amount of unused opioids retained in the home from 83 per cent to 17 per cent and creating a new pathway to facilitate the return and disposal of unused opioids. They also addressed language barriers and improved access by translating all educational documents into the 10 most used languages in relevant surgical population, allowing more families to participate.

A spectacularly collaborative team

“This is a wonderful and humbling recognition for six years of research and quality improvement work," says Dr. Conor Mc Donnell, Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, who leads PrOSPR. "Our program addresses the ongoing opioid crisis in Canada by systematically decreasing the amount of opioids prescribed at discharge from SickKids post-surgical care. Where we differ from other research is the degree to which we follow up with families in the home to ensure our prescribing reductions have not caused harm through untreated pain. Communicating with families in those moments continues to guide the evolution of our projects and goals.”

Conor still can't believe that a conversation in 2018 with Monica Caldeira-Kulbakas, Research Coordinator for Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, and PrOSPR co-lead, has “morphed to embrace this spectacularly collaborative team” comprising nurses, pain specialists, research personnel, pharmacists, volunteers, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and most recently, PACT.

"ISMP mentioned to me that it is extremely rare for this award to cross 'north of the border', and even rarer still to be conferred on a paediatric group. I would be remiss if I did not mention the unwavering support of Chief Medical Officer Dr. Lennox Huang, who has been an exemplary model for how SickKids embraces original thought and encourages innovative solutions both in QI and clinical practice. In addition, Perioperative Services has generously supported this work through both research funding and personal support for me as one of its local Associate Chiefs.”

Conor is incredibly proud of “our little group,” the work done to date, and is excited by the future of this program now that it has received this level of recognition. He is equally excited by what the future holds for the talented individuals on the team.

“PrOSPR has flourished due to the efforts of many exceptional young women, and I am both delighted and humbled that our program has helped launch careers for young women in medicine and science.”

Congratulations to the PrOSPR team!