Patterns of opioid initiation at first visits for pain in United States primary care settings.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

The primary objective of this study was to characterize variation in patterns of opioid prescribing within primary care settings at first visits for pain, and to describe variation by condition, geography, and patient characteristics.

Methods

2014 healthcare utilization data from Optum's Clinformatics™ DataMart were used to evaluate individuals 18 years or older with an initial presentation to primary care for 1 of 10 common pain conditions. The main outcomes assessed were (1) the proportion of first visits for pain associated with an opioid prescription fill and (2) the proportion of opioid prescriptions with >7 days' supply.

Results

We identified 205 560 individuals who met inclusion criteria; 9.1% of all visits were associated with an opioid fill, ranging f

SUBMITTER: Mundkur ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5880749 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature