Objective: The objective of this study was to assess opioid prescribing patterns of primary care providers (PCPs) participating in a virtual tele-mentoring program for patients with chronic pain as compared to nonparticipants.
Design: We utilized Missouri Medicaid claims from 2013 to 2021 to compare opioid prescription dosages and daily supply of opioids prescribed by PCPs. Participants and nonparticipants were matched using propensity score matching.
Setting: Missouri Medicaid data were received through partnership with the Center for Health Policy's MO HealthNet Data Project, the state's leading provider of Medicaid data.
Participants: Missouri-based prescribers.
Intervention: Show-Me Project Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO), an evidence-based provider-to-provider telehealth intervention that connects PCPs with a team of specialists.
Main outcome measures: We compared the rate of prescription opioid >50 morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs), mean MMEs/day, and mean number of daily supply to understand the impact of the ECHO model on providers' opioid prescribing.
Results: Patients treated by ECHO providers have 33 percent lower odds of being prescribed opioid dose >50 MME/day (p < 0.001) compared to non-ECHO providers. There is also a 14 percent reduction in the average opioid dose prescribed to patients of ECHO providers (p < 0.001). We observed a 3 percent (p < 0.001) reduction in average daily supply of opioids among patients of ECHO providers compared to the comparison group.
Conclusions: Pain Management ECHO supports PCPs with needed education and skills to provide specialty care in the management of pain conditions and safe prescribing of opioid medications.