Telemedicine use increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and researchers wanted to know how the modern form of connecting affected opioid prescribing practices in the orthopedic setting. Their study considered more than 600 opioid prescriptions written to patients who had video (visual and audio), telephone (audio only), or in-person encounters from early 2020 compared to one year prior. The findings revealed that patients received significantly higher prescriptions for milligram morphine equivalents through video than through other encounter types, among other data.

Reference: Bloom DA, Zabat MA, Owusu-Sarpong S, et al. Adoption of Telemedicine Increases Opioid Prescribing in Orthopedic Surgery. Telemed J E Health. 2023 Jan 30. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2022.0150. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36716279.

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