Effect of a high dosage opioid prior authorization policy on prescription opioid use, misuse, and overdose outcomes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

High dosage opioid use is a risk factor for opioid-related overdose commonly cited in guidelines, recommendations, and policies. In 2012, the Oregon Medicaid program developed a prior authorization policy for opioid prescriptions above 120 mg per day morphine equivalent dose (MED). This study aimed to evaluate the effects of that policy on utilization, prescribing patterns, and health outcomes.

Methods

Using administrative claims data from Oregon and a control state (Colorado) between 2011 and 2013, we used difference-in-differences analyses to examine changes in utilization, measures of high risk opioid use, and overdose after introduction of the policy. We also evaluated opioid utilization in a cohort of individuals who were high dosage opioid users before the p

SUBMITTER: Hartung DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9926935 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature