More than one-third of Medicare patients received opioid prescriptions from more than one provider, and this doubling-up of prescriptions is leading to increased opioid-related admissions, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.
Researchers examined more than 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries who received at least one opioid prescription in 2010. They found 34.6 percent of those patients filled opioid prescriptions from two providers, 14.2 percent filled prescriptions from three providers and 11.9 percent filled prescriptions from four or more providers.
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Additionally, 77.2 percent of beneficiaries who filled prescriptions from at least four providers received concurrent opioid prescriptions.
Hospital admissions related to opioid use increased by 1.63 percent for patients with one opioid provider, 2.08 percent for patients with two providers, 2.87 percent for patients with three providers and 4.83 percent for patients with four or more providers.
Researchers concluded concurrent opioid prescriptions are common in Medicaid beneficiaries and are tied to increased opioid-related hospital admissions.
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