Exploring Patient Perspectives on a Digital Opioid Management Tool After Surgery: A Qualitative Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND EHR-integrated digital tools offer a scalable, low-burden way to deliver opioid education, tapering support, and promote safe disposal. Despite this, the usability and patient-perceived value of such tools in surgical populations are not well characterized. OBJECTIVE We developed OPY (Opioid Program for You), a patient portal-embedded, patient-facing application grounded in behavioral economics to operationalize effective postoperative opioid stewardship. This study evaluates OPY from the patient perspective to assess their unique experiences, tool usability, and utility. METHODS This qualitative study included both online surveys (n=64) and virtual, semi-structured interviews (n=19). Participants were recruited from a large academic health system from July–August 2025. This study was prospectively registered (NCT06124079) and adheres to Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) guidelines. Survey results were descriptively analyzed and qualitative data was coded using grounded thematic analysis. RESULTS The majority, 70% (30 of 43), of participants reported being satisfied with the OPY tool, and said they were likely, 75% (24 of 32), to recommend OPY to friends or family. Qualitative themes identified were: overall OPY usage patterns, perceptions of OPY features (positive and negative), patients' reactions to the introduction of the OPY application, and suggestions for tool improvement. CONCLUSIONS Most participants valued the OPY tool for its educational content, safety guidance, and usability, yet emphasized the need for personalized content and functionality, along with a stronger introduction to OPY from providers at the point of care to enhance engagement and implementation of an embedded digital health tool. CLINICALTRIAL (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06124079) INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/52882