Decline in opioid prescribing after federal rescheduling of hydrocodone products.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To examine differences in opioid prescribing by patient characteristics and variation in hydrocodone combination product (HCP) prescribing attributed to states, before and after the 2014 Drug Enforcement Administration's reclassification of HCP from schedule III to the more restrictive schedule II.

Methods

We used 2013 to 2015 data for 9 202 958 patients aged 18 to 64 from a large nationally representative commercial health insurance program to assess the temporal trends in the monthly rate of opioid prescribing.

Results

HCP prescribing decreased by 26% from June 2013 to June 2015; the rate of prescriptions for any opioid decreased by 11%. Prescribing of non-hydrocodone schedule III opioids increased slightly while prescribing of non-hydrocodone schedule II op

SUBMITTER: Raji MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5934339 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature