Sex, Race, Insurance, and Pain: Do Patient Sociodemographics Influence Postoperative Opioid Prescriptions Among Hand Surgeons?

BACKGROUND

Social and demographic factors may influence patient treatment by physicians. This study analyzes the influence of patient sociodemographics on prescription practices among hand surgeons.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective analysis of all hand surgeries (N = 5278) at a single academic medical center from January 2016 to September 2018. The average morphine milligram equivalent (MME) prescribed following each surgery was calculated and then classified by age, race, sex, type of insurance, and history of substance use or chronic pain. Multivariate linear regression was used to compare MME among groups.

RESULTS

Overall, patients with a history of substance abuse were prescribed 31.2 MME more than those without ( < .0001), and patients with a history of chronic pain were prescribed 36.7 MME more than those without ( < .0001). After adjusting for these variables and the type of procedure performed, women were prescribed 11.2 MME less than men ( = .0048), and Hispanics were prescribed 16.6 MME more than whites ( = .0091) overall. Both Hispanic and black patients were also prescribed more than whites following carpal tunnel release (+19.0 and + 20.0 MME, respectively; < .001). Patients with private insurance were prescribed 24.5 MME more than those with Medicare ( < .0001), but 25.0 MME less than those with Medicaid ( < .0001). There were no differences across age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Numerous sociodemographic factors influenced postoperative opioid prescription among hand surgeons at our institution. These findings highlight the importance of establishing more uniform, evidence-based guidelines for postoperative pain management, which may help minimize subjectivity and prevent the overtreatment or undertreatment of pain in certain patient populations.