April 2025

ORTHOPAEDICS

IMPACT OF NEW YORK'S OPIOID PRESCRIPTION RESTRICTION ON POST-SURGICAL PAIN MANAGEMENT

In 2016, New York passed a law, known as Section 3331, restricting opioid prescriptions.
A recent retrospective observational study published in JAMA Network Open examined Section 3331’s impact on opioid prescriptions for older adults undergoing total joint replacements. The study compared data from New York and California — a control state without a similar law —  to assess changes in opioid prescription practices before and after Section 3331's implementation.

The study was by Caroline P. Thirukumaran, MD, of Northwestern Medicine Orthopaedics.
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The findings revealed that, within the initial seven days post-surgery, New York experienced a marked decrease in total opioid quantities prescribed, measured in morphine milligram equivalents, compared to California. The study attributed this decrease to shorter prescription durations and lower opioid quantities per script in New York. However, the study noted no statistically significant changes in opioid prescriptions during the eight-to-30 or 31-to-90-day post-op periods.
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Section 3331 shows how targeted legislative action may help curb excessive opioid use while maintaining pain management for patients. The study's conclusions underscore the importance of such measures as a foundation for further refinements in New York and as inspiration for similar initiatives in other states affected by the opioid epidemic.
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Visit JAMA Network to read the study. 
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​Also featured in Healio.
Caroline P. Thirukumaran, PhD, Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and of Medical Social Sciences (Determinants of Health) at Northwestern Medicine

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