While the amount of opioids prescribed per person decreased between 2006 and 2017, the average duration per opioid prescription increased, according to a new study published in JAMA.
For the study, researchers used a cross-sectional analysis of opioid prescriptions filled at U.S. retail pharmacies between Jan. 1, 2006 and Dec. 31, 2017. Researchers used data from the IQVIA Xponent database.
Six key study findings:
1. Between 2006 and 2017, an estimated 233.7 million opioid prescriptions were filled in retail pharmacies each year.
2. Opioid prescription rates rose to a peak in 2010, then declined steadily. Overall, opioid prescriptions decreased by 13 percent over the study period.
3. Researchers also found that the prescribing rate for high-dosage opioids, short-term opioid prescriptions, and extended-release and long-acting opioid formulations decreased.
4. However, the study also found that while physicians are prescribing fewer opioids, they are keeping patients on opioids for longer periods of time. One in three opioids were prescribed for a duration of 30 days or more. Over the study period this rate rose 3 percent annually.
5. Further, the study found that the mean duration of an opioid prescription increased from 13 days to 17.9 days.
6. "Because duration of use is the factor most often associated with opioid use disorder and overdose, the increase in mean duration per prescription and prescribing rate for 30 or more days is notable and worth further investigation," the study authors wrote.