Nicholson AD, et al. - A total of 561 patients who underwent shoulder surgery within a tertiary health care system were recognized, and opioid prescription data were retrospectively gathered from the Connecticut Prescription Monitoring and Reporting System by the researchers in order to generate and verify a clinical risk assessment tool to preoperatively prognosticate prolonged opioid use post-shoulder surgery. Opioid use before the surgery, insurance type, procedure type, body mass index, smoking status, and psychiatric disorders were observed as accountable for prolonged opioid use. With an estimated concordance index of 0.766, the prediction correctness of this model was excellent. Hence, in order to help recognize at-risk individuals and quantify their risk of prolonged opioid use post-shoulder surgery, a preoperative predictive calculator was presented. Moreover, to recognize patients profiting from referral to pain management specialists and to possibly decrease the risk of opioid abuse and dependence, this was concluded as a valuable clinical decision-making tool.