GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo. — The Colorado Hospital Association (CHA) has launched an opioid safety pilot in eight hospital and three freestanding emergency departments, with the goal of reducing the administration of opioids in emergency departments.
Pilot hospitals and emergency departments will use the new American College of Emergency Physicians 2017 Opioid Prescribing and Treatment Guidelines. The guidelines recommend the use of alternatives to opioids as a first-line treatment for pain, rather than opioids.
According to the CHA, the pilot program is necessary to gather data, establish best practices and determine the efficacy of using alternatives for the management of acute pain.
The CHA is citing the fact that Colorado has the 12th highest rate of misuse and abuse of prescription opioids across all 50 states as one of the reasons for the pilot program.
According to CHA, the initiative will be one of the largest opioid research efforts in the United States.
Pilot hospitals include:
- Swedish Medical Center in Englewood
- Boulder Community Health and Boulder Community Medical Center Emergency Room in Boulder
- Gunnison Valley Health in Gunnison
- Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland
- UCHealth-Greeley Emergency & Surgery Center in Greeley
- Poudre Valley Hospital & UCHealth Emergency Room – Harmony in Fort Collins
- Sedgwick County Health Center in Julesburg
- Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree
- Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs