Dataset Information

Safety and Distribution of Opioid Prescribing by U.S. Surgeons.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To estimate high-risk prescribing patterns among opioid prescriptions from U.S. surgeons; to characterize the distribution of high-risk prescribing among surgeons.

Background

National data on the prevalence of opioid prescribing and high-risk opioid prescribing by U.S. surgeons are lacking.

Methods

Using the IQVIA Prescription Database, which reports dispensing from 92% of U.S. pharmacies, we identified opioid prescriptions from surgeons dispensed in 2019 to patients ages ≥12 years. "High-risk" prescriptions were characterized by: days supplied >7, daily dosage ≥50 oral morphine equivalents (OMEs), opioid-benzodiazepine overlap, and extended-release/long-acting opioid. We determined the proportion of opioid prescriptions, total OMEs, and high-risk prescriptions accounted for by "high-volume surgeons" (those in the ≥95th percentile for prescription counts). We used linear regression to identify characteristics associated with being a high-volume surgeon.

Results

Among 15,493,018 opioid prescriptions included, 7,036,481 (45.4%) were high-risk. Among 114,610 surgeons, 5753 were in the 95th percentile or above for prescription count, with ≥520 prescriptions dispensed in 2019. High-volume surgeons accounted for 33.5% of opioid prescriptions, 52.8% of total OMEs, and 44.2% of high-risk prescriptions. Among high-volume surgeons, 73.9% were orthopedic surgeons and 60.6% practiced in the South. Older age, male sex, specialty, region, and lack of affiliation with academic institutions or health systems were correlated with high-risk prescribing.

Conclusions

The top 5% of surgeons account for 33.5% of opioid prescriptions and 45.4% of high-risk prescriptions. Quality improvement initiatives targeting these surgeons may have the greatest yield given their outsized role in high-risk prescribing.

SUBMITTER: Waljee JF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10354205 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Safety and Distribution of Opioid Prescribing by U.S. Surgeons.

Waljee Jennifer F JF Gunaseelan Vidhya V Bicket Mark C MC Brummett Chad M CM Chua Kao-Ping KP

Annals of surgery 20230119 6

<h4>Objective</h4>To estimate high-risk prescribing patterns among opioid prescriptions from U.S. surgeons; to characterize the distribution of high-risk prescribing among surgeons.<h4>Background</h4>National data on the prevalence of opioid prescribing and high-risk opioid prescribing by U.S. surgeons are lacking.<h4>Methods</h4>Using the IQVIA Prescription Database, which reports dispensing from 92% of U.S. pharmacies, we identified opioid prescriptions from surgeons dispensed in 2019 to patie ...[more]

PMID: 36727966

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Project description:Importance:Opioid overdose is the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Several studies have shown that surgeons overprescribe opioids, and guidelines for appropriate opioid prescribing are available. Concern about patient-reported satisfaction scores may be a barrier to surgeons adopting guideline-directed prescribing. Objective:To determine whether decreased opioid prescribing is associated with a decrease in patient-reported satisfaction with their surgeon. Design, Setting, and Participants:Retrospective analysis of clinician satisfaction scores at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center obtained in 2 periods: 1 before (period A) and 1 after (period B) an educational intervention that resulted in decreased opioid prescribing. The analysis included 11 surgeons who performed 5 common outpatient general surgical operations on 996 patients. Data were analyzed between March and August 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures:Patient-reported overall satisfaction rating of the surgeon (scale, 0-10). This was collected by a nonstudy-related, routine general institutional survey of approximately 40% of all outpatient encounters. Results:Of the total number of patients, 67% were women (667 of 996), and the mean patient age was 58 years. Comparing period A with B, the proportion of patients prescribed opioids decreased from 90.2% (n?=?367 of 407) to 72.8% (n?=?429 of 589) (P?<?.001). The mean number of opioid pills per prescription decreased from 28.3 to 13.3 (P?<?.001) and significantly decreased for each of the 11 surgeons. One hundred five of 996 patients (10.5%) undergoing index operations responded to the survey. There was no difference in the mean clinician satisfaction ratings from period A vs B (9.70 vs 9.65; P?=?.69). During the study periods, 640 total surveys were collected referencing these surgeons (including outpatient encounters associated with operations other than the 5 index cases). There was no difference in the mean satisfaction ratings from period A vs period B (9.55 vs 9.59; P?=?.62). When individual clinicians were analyzed, none had a significant difference in overall satisfaction rating from period A vs period B. Conclusions and Relevance:Despite a marked decrease in the proportion of patients receiving opioids and in the number of pills prescribed, there was no significant change in clinician satisfaction ratings.

Project description:BackgroundIn response to the opioid overdose crisis in the United States, many states implemented policies to guide opioid prescribing, but their impact on overdose mortality (prescription and non-prescription) remains poorly understood. We examined the impact of U.S. state opioid-prescribing policies on opioid overdose mortality following implementation.MethodsWe calculated opioid overdose mortality rates from 1999-2016 by U.S. state using the CDC WONDER database, overall and separately for overdose deaths from prescription and non-prescription opioids. For each state, policies active on 1/1/2014 were reviewed for the presence and strength of six provisions recommending judicious opioid prescribing practices; "strong" provisions used the words "should," "shall," or "must". Interrupted time series (ITS) tested the association of each strong provision with overdose mortality, overall and separately for prescription and non-prescription opioids, in the two years following implementation. Sensitivity analyses compared between states, used time-lagged analyses, and excluded synthetic opioids from non-prescription opioid deaths.ResultsAll six provisions had consistent direction of effect in ITS and sensitivity analyses. Strong provisions for prescriber training and limits on opioid dose reduced the slope of overall and prescription opioid overdose mortality in both ITS and sensitivity analyses. Reduced non-prescription opioid overdose mortality was only associated with strong provision for prescriber training. Some provisions had a negative impact. In ITS, strong provision for prescriber response to misuse increased the slope of non-prescription opioid overdose mortality. Strong provision for mandatory prescription drug monitoring program use had no relationship with overdose mortality in ITS and was associated with increased overall, prescription and non-prescription opioid overdose mortality in between-state sensitivity analysis.ConclusionOpioid prescribing policies in U.S. states at the peak of the prescription opioid epidemic had modest mortality benefit, and did not reduce non-prescription opioid overdose mortality. A strong provision for prescriber training was the only provision associated with reduced prescription and non-prescription opioid overdose mortality. These findings can inform future efforts addressing prescription drug epidemics.

Project description:IntroductionWe assess trends in opioid administration and prescribing from 2005-2015 in older adults in United States (U.S.) emergency departments (ED).MethodsWe analyzed data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) survey from 2005 to 2015. ED visits for painful conditions were selected and stratified by age (18-64, 65-74, 75-84, ≥ 85 years). We analyzed trends in opioid administration in the ED and prescribing at discharge to encounters ≥ 65 and assessed predictors of use using survey-weighted chi-square tests and logistic regression. Trends in the use of five commonly prescribed opioids were also explored.ResultsOpioid administration in the ED and prescribing at discharge for encounters with patients ≥ 65 years fell overall, but not significantly. By contrast, opioid administration in the ED and prescribing at discharge significantly declined for adult encounters 18-64 by 20% and 32%, respectively. A similar proportion of adult encounters ≥ 65 were administered opioids in the ED as 18-64, but adult encounters ≥ 85 had the lowest rates of administration. A smaller proportion of adult encounters ≥ 65 years with painful conditions were prescribed opioids at discharge compared to <65. However, this age-related disparity in prescribing narrowed over the study period. There were shifts in the specific types of opioids administered and prescribed in adult encounters ≥ 65 years over the study period, with the most notable being a 76% increase in hydromorphone administration comparing 2005-06 to 2014-15.ConclusionFrom 2005-15, 1 in 4 to 1 in 10 ED patients with painful conditions were administered or prescribed an opioid in U.S. EDs. Opioids prescribing increased from 2005-11 and then declined from 2012-15, more so among visits in the 18-64 age group compared to ≥ 65 years. Opioid administrating demonstrated a gradual rise and decline in all adult age groups. Age consistently appears to be an important consideration, where opioid prescribing declines with advancing age. Given the nationwide opioid crisis, ED providers should remain vigilant in limiting opioids, particularly in older adults who are at higher risk for adverse effects.

Project description:BackgroundThere is concern that state laws to curb opioid prescribing may adversely affect patients with chronic noncancer pain, but the laws' effects are unclear because of challenges in disentangling multiple laws implemented around the same time.ObjectiveTo study the association between state opioid prescribing cap laws, pill mill laws, and mandatory prescription drug monitoring program query or enrollment laws and trends in opioid and guideline-concordant nonopioid pain treatment among commercially insured adults, including a subgroup with chronic noncancer pain conditions.DesignThirteen treatment states that implemented a single law of interest in a 4-year period and unique groups of control states for each treatment state were identified. Augmented synthetic control analyses were used to estimate the association between each state law and outcomes.SettingUnited States, 2008 to 2019.Patients7 694 514 commercially insured adults aged 18 years or older, including 1 976 355 diagnosed with arthritis, low back pain, headache, fibromyalgia, and/or neuropathic pain.MeasurementsProportion of patients receiving any opioid prescription or guideline-concordant nonopioid pain treatment per month, and mean days' supply and morphine milligram equivalents (MME) of prescribed opioids per day, per patient, per month.ResultsLaws were associated with small-in-magnitude and non-statistically significant changes in outcomes, although CIs around some estimates were wide. For adults overall and those with chronic noncancer pain, the 13 state laws were each associated with a change of less than 1 percentage point in the proportion of patients receiving any opioid prescription and a change of less than 2 percentage points in the proportion receiving any guideline-concordant nonopioid treatment, per month. The laws were associated with a change of less than 1 in days' supply of opioid prescriptions and a change of less than 4 in average monthly MME per day per patient prescribed opioids.LimitationsResults may not be generalizable to non-commercially insured populations and were imprecise for some estimates. Use of claims data precluded assessment of the clinical appropriateness of pain treatments.ConclusionThis study did not identify changes in opioid prescribing or nonopioid pain treatment attributable to state laws.Primary funding sourceNational Institute on Drug Abuse.

Dataset Information

Safety and Distribution of Opioid Prescribing by U.S. Surgeons.

Objective

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Safety and Distribution of Opioid Prescribing by U.S. Surgeons.

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