Skip to main content

At-Home Disposal Kits Increase Self-Disposal Rates of Opioids

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Jan 13, 2025.

By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Jan. 10, 2025 -- Providing surgery patients with an opioid disposal kit at the time of discharge increases their self-disposal rates, according to a short report published online Jan. 1 in BMJ Open Quality.

Eric Shan, from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues assessed the impact of opioid disposal kits on disposal rates after orthopedic surgery. The analysis included 1,321 eligible patients; comparisons were made for patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty from May to July 2022 versus July to September 2022 (when opioid disposal kits were provided at discharge).

The researchers found that disposal kits were associated with a 10.6 percentage point increase in disposal rates (20.8 to 28.4 percent) and a 10.5 percentage point increase in the fraction of opioids disposed (16.1 to 20.2 percent). The disposal kits were also found to be cost-effective, as each kit was valued at under $2.00.

"Any time we can cut down the number of opioids that could potentially circulate or be misused, it's a positive step," co-corresponding author Anish Agarwal, M.D., M.P.H., of the Center for Insights to Outcomes at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, said in a statement. "If you can make the right decision the easy one, you're much more likely to get a positive outcome, and I think that's what we saw here."

Abstract/Full Text

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

Previous Estimates of Illicit Opioid Use in the United States Underreported

WEDNESDAY, May 14, 2025 -- Illicit opioid use may be higher than previously reported in the United States, according to a study published online May 9 in JAMA Health...

Rates of Fentanyl Nonfatal Overdose ED Visits Rose Through Third Quarter of 2023

WEDNESDAY, May 14, 2025 -- From 2020 to 2023, there was an increase in the rates of fentanyl-involved nonfatal overdose emergency department visits, according to research...

Nearly 19 Million Children Live Under Same Roof as Parent With Substance Use Disorder

TUESDAY, May 13, 2025 -- In 2023, nearly 19 million children in the United States were estimated to be living in a household with at least one parent or primary caregiver with a...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.