Abstract
Background Opioid conversion is complex and currently performed manually using tables of approximate equivalence, often in high pressure clinical situations. Apps that offer opioid dose conversion are available but there are concerns about their accuracy, reliability, and clinical validation.
Aim The study evaluated a novel opioid dose conversion app, The Safer Prescription of Opioids Tool (SPOT), as a clinician decision support (CDS) platform. The secondary objective was to use SPOT to describe patterns of opioid dose conversion in palliative and end-of-life care.
Method This prospective clinical utility single-centre pilot study followed a mixed methods design. Prescribers completed an initial survey exploring their current opioid prescribing practice. Thereafter prescribers used SPOT for opioid dosage conversions in parallel to their usual clinical practice. Lastly, prescribers evaluated SPOT through a survey and focus group. SPOT was evaluated using clinical data across primary, secondary and tertiary care in palliative care and end of life care settings at a Scottish Health Board in both out-of-hours and in-hours.
Results SPOT correctly matched the Gold Standard result in 258 of 268 (96.3%) calculations. Users had a statistically significant increase in confidence in prescribing opioids after using SPOT. A majority (62%) of conversions were for cancer pain. Focus group feedback highlighted perceived benefits in Quality Improvement and Safety when using SPOT.
Conclusion SPOT is a safe, reliable and validated CDS that has significant potential to reduce harms from opioid dosing errors, particularly in primary care, including rural primary care, and the out-of-hours setting.