AESOPS Trial 2 (AESOPS-2): Availability of Opioid Harm

NCT ID: NCT04758637

Last Updated: 2025-10-07

Study Results

Results available

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

61 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2023-01-23

Study Completion Date

2024-03-18

Brief Summary

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The opioid epidemic is the largest man-made public health crisis the United States has faced. The objective of Trial 2 of the Application of Economics \& Social psychology to improve Opioid Prescribing Safety (AESOPS-2) study, is to discourage unnecessary opioid prescribing by increasing the salience of negative patient outcomes associated with opioid use.

Detailed Description

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In AESOPS-2, a multi-site study, random assignment determines if prescribers to persons who suffer an opioid overdose (fatal or nonfatal) learn of this event (intervention) or practice usual-care (control). The AESOPS-2 trial will take place in 3 diverse health systems in the U.S. - Northwestern Medicine, AltaMed Health Services, and The Children's Clinic. At Northwestern Medicine, clinicians in the intervention group receive a letter notifying them of their patient's fatal or nonfatal ED overdose. At AltaMed Health Services, and The Children's Clinic, clinicians in the intervention group receive a letter notifying them of their patient's nonfatal ED overdose. The primary outcome is the change in clinician weekly milligram morphine equivalent (MME) dose prescribed in 6-month periods before and after receiving the letter. The secondary outcome is the change in the proportion of patients prescribed at least 50 daily MME. Group differences in these outcomes will be compared using an intent-to-treat difference-in-differences framework with a mixed-effects regression model to estimate clinician MME weekly dose. The AESOPS-2 trial will provide new knowledge about whether increasing prescribers' awareness of patients' opioid-related overdoses leads to a reduction in opioid prescribing. Additionally, this trial may better inform how to reduce opioid use disorder and opioid overdoses by lowering unnecessary population exposure to these drugs.

Conditions

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Opioid Abuse

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Caregivers

Study Groups

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Control Group

Physicians in the control group will receive no notification of their patient's fatal or nonfatal overdose.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Overdose Notification Group

The overdose notifications will alert prescribers to the patient's opioid-related overdose, recommend the use of the state-level PDMP, and list evidence-based interventions to lower opioid-related overdoses.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Overdose Notification

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

We will identify overdoses from state vital records and insurance claims data linked to emergency departments. We will use electronic health record data to identify prescriptions of scheduled drug to patients who experienced a non-fatal or fatal overdose within the health system. If randomized to the overdose notification group, physicians who prescribed the controlled substances to the deceased or surviving patient in the year prior to their overdose will be informed of the overdose via letter. The letters will alert prescribers to the patient's opioid-related overdose, recommend the use of the state-level PDMP, and list evidence-based interventions to lower opioid-related overdoses. The letters will increase the salience and availability of opioid-related harms, which may cause clinicians to be more wary of a future overdose when prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, or sedative-hypnotics.

Interventions

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Overdose Notification

We will identify overdoses from state vital records and insurance claims data linked to emergency departments. We will use electronic health record data to identify prescriptions of scheduled drug to patients who experienced a non-fatal or fatal overdose within the health system. If randomized to the overdose notification group, physicians who prescribed the controlled substances to the deceased or surviving patient in the year prior to their overdose will be informed of the overdose via letter. The letters will alert prescribers to the patient's opioid-related overdose, recommend the use of the state-level PDMP, and list evidence-based interventions to lower opioid-related overdoses. The letters will increase the salience and availability of opioid-related harms, which may cause clinicians to be more wary of a future overdose when prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants, or sedative-hypnotics.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* 1\) The clinician prescribed a qualifying scheduled drug to a patient in the 12 months prior to their non-fatal or fatal overdose 2) the patient is 18 years old or older at the time of the overdose, 3) the provider practices within a health system enrolled in the study, and 4) the overdose occurs during the 12-month observation period. Qualifying prescriptions include those for one of the following scheduled drugs: opioids, benzodiazepines, muscle relaxants or sedative-hypnotics.

Exclusion Criteria

* Prescriptions to patients in hospice or with active cancer
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Northwestern University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

AltaMed Health Services Corporation

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

NIH

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Southern California

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Jason Doctor

Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Jason Doctor, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Southern California

Locations

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Northwestern University

Chicago, Illinois, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Kelley MA, Persell SD, Linder JA, Friedberg MW, Meeker D, Fox CR, Goldstein NJ, Knight TK, Zein D, Sullivan MD, Doctor JN. The protocol of the Application of Economics & Social psychology to improve Opioid Prescribing Safety trial 2 (AESOPS-2): Availability of opioid harm. Contemp Clin Trials. 2022 Jan;112:106650. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2021.106650. Epub 2021 Dec 8.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 34896295 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Other Identifiers

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R33AG057395

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

UP-20-01330

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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