Prescription Default Nudges for Opioid Reduction after Major Surgery (NORMS)): A Randomized Controlled Trial
Primary resultResult — go to the resultAdjusted difference 2.4 MME 95% CI −14.7 to 19.4Authors' conclusion
The offering of pre-populated opioid prescriptions to surgeons did not reduce postoperative opioid prescribing overall. However, the subset of surgeons who accepted the defaults prescribed much less opioids.
Study context
- Population
- Adult surgical patients at a large academic medical center; 118 surgical clinicians randomisedsurgical encounters analysed
- Participants
- 663 patients
- Comparison
- Intervention vs Control
- Interventionn = 377
- Controln = 286reference
- Primary endpoint
- MME prescribed at discharge (surgical encounter level)
- Follow-up
- Discharge
Methodological detailsclinician-randomised, single-centre
- Clinician-randomised
- Single-centre
Primary result
As reported in the abstract
Adjusted difference
2.4 MME
95% CI −14.7 to 19.4
P = 0.79
Intervention vs Control
adjusted difference 2.4 MME (95% CI −14.7 to 19.4); P = 0.79
Further findings
| Outcome | Adjusted difference (MME) (95% CI) | |
|---|---|---|
| MME, pre-populated vs free form prescriptionsAs-treated analysis | −22.5 (−34.7 to −10.2) | |
| −40−20020Difference, MME (linear scale) |
Overall median opioids prescribed at discharge
- Median morphine milligram equivalents (MME) prescribed (≈10 oxycodone-5 mg tablets)
- 75 MME
Uptake of pre-populated defaults (Intervention)
- Prescriptions from pre-populated defaults
- 21%
- Free form prescriptions
- 79%
Original publication
Prescription Default Nudges for Opioid Reduction after Major Surgery (NORMS)): A Randomized Controlled Trial. Ann Surg. Published 7 November 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →