Fig. 1
Duration of postoperative discharge opioid prescription, 2013–2019. a Mean duration of the discharge opioid prescription for postoperative patients before and after the release of the CDC opioid guideline. Data are presented as the mean days’ supply on the discharge opioid prescription in quarterly intervals from the 1st quarter of 2013 through the 4th quarter of 2019. The vertical line represents the first quarter after the release of the CDC opioid guideline in March 2016. By the 3rd quarter of 2019, the mean duration of the postoperative discharge opioid prescription had decreased to less than 3 days. b Proportion of postoperative patients receiving a discharge opioid prescription with greater than 3 days’ supply before and after the release of the CDC opioid guideline. Data are presented as the percentage of postoperative patients receiving a discharge opioid prescription with greater than 3 days’ supply in quarterly intervals from the 1st quarter of 2013 through the 4th quarter of 2019. The vertical line represents the first quarter after the release of the CDC guideline in March 2016. By the 4th quarter of 2018, the proportion of postoperative patients receiving a discharge opioid prescription with greater than 3 days’ supply had decreased to less than 50%. Dc = discharge; Rx = prescription, 3d = 3 days, and CI = confidence interval