Has Declining Opioid Dispensing to Cancer Patients Been Tailored to Risk of Opioid Harms?

ABSTRACT:

Context

Opioid prescribing to cancer patients is declining, but it is unknown whether reductions have been tailored to those at highest risk of opioid-related harms.

Objectives

Examine whether declines in opioid dispensing to patients receiving active cancer treatment are sharper in patients with substance use disorder (SUD) or mental health diagnoses.

Methods

We used 2008-2018 national, commercial healthcare claims data to examine adjusted and unadjusted trends in opioid dispensing (receipt of ≥1 fill; average daily dosage; receipt of high-dose opioids; receipt of concurrent opioids and benzodiazepines) to patients ages ≥18 receiving treatment for one of four cancer types (breast; colorectal; head and neck; sarcoma; N = 324,789 patients). To compare declines across s

SUBMITTER: Townsend TN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8816811 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature