Background: Safety-net hospitals frequently underperform on surgical quality measures. To achieve equitable surgical care, creative strategies are needed to improve care for this vulnerable population.
Methods: We designed a trainee-led quality improvement (QI) program to promote evidence-based analgesia prescribing. The program included a collaborative resident leadership model and used educational interventions and performance feedback.
Results: Before the QI program, 48% of patients were discharged on acetaminophen post-operatively, and 0% were discharged on ibuprofen. In the most recent month since the QI program was launched, 100% of patients were discharged on acetaminophen, and 81% on ibuprofen.
Conclusion: Our trainee-led quality improvement program demonstrates that surgical trainees can accelerate change and may be a powerful force for improving health equity through safer post-operative discharge prescribing practices at a safety-net hospital.
Keywords: Graduate medical education; Integrated learning systems; Opioids; Pain management; Postoperative drug therapy; Quality improvement.
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