Massachusetts providers issued about 638,000 Schedule II opioid prescriptions in the second quarter of 2017, which represents a 28 percent reduction compared to the first quarter 2015, according to data the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released Thursday.
In October 2016, the state began requiring providers to check the Massachusetts Prescription Awareness Tool before prescribing opioids. The tool is a database of patient prescription information linked to similar databases in 31 other states. Since implementing the requirement, providers have conducted 6.5 million searches on the database.
"Since taking office, we have been committed to providing communities and providers the tools, data and investments to curb and eliminate the opioid epidemic's devastating toll on Massachusetts families," said Republican Governor Charlie Baker. "This revamped, user-friendly prescription monitoring system, a first-in-the-nation seven-day prescription limit and education initiatives for our doctors, nurses, dentists and social workers, are all key to our efforts to promote safe prescribing and reduce opioid prescriptions by 28 percent over the last three years."
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