To characterize opioid prescribing trends in the US between 2010 and 2024 by prescriber specialty, focusing on short-term versus long-term prescribing episodes.
Approach:
Data Source: Utilized OptumLabs Data Warehouse for longitudinal, deidentified pharmacy and medical claims data.
Study Population: Included adult enrollees with at least 90 days of continuous medical and prescription coverage.
Opioid Use Episodes: Classified episodes as short-term, long-term, or episodic based on duration and number of fills.
Specialty Classification: Grouped prescriber specialties into 10 categories, including a combined category for outpatient pain medicine specialists.
Key Findings:
Opioid prescribing has decreased in the US since 2016, influenced by the opioid overdose epidemic.
Changes in prescribing practices varied across medical specialties.
Short-term and long-term opioid prescribing have different indications and potential harms.
Interpretation:
Limitations:
The study was exempt from institutional review board review due to deidentified data.
Fills for patients with both Medicare Advantage and Commercial coverage were excluded.
