Health Care Spending and New Persistent Opioid Use After Surgery.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

We sought to describe the differences in health care spending and utilization among patients who develop persistent postoperative opioid use.

Summary of background data

Although persistent opioid use following surgery has garnered concern, its impact on health care costs and utilization remains unknown.

Methods

We examined insurance claims among 133,439 opioid-naive adults undergoing surgery. Outcomes included 6-month postoperative health care spending; proportion of spending attributable to admission, readmission, ambulatory or emergency care; monthly spending 6 months before and following surgery. We defined persistent opioid use as continued opioid fills beyond 3 months postoperatively. We used linear regression to estimate outcomes adjusting for clinical

SUBMITTER: Lee JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7068728 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature