Association of Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Use With Opioid Prescribing and Health Outcomes: A Comparison of Program Users and Nonusers.

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are a response to the prescription opioid epidemic, but their effects on prescribing and health outcomes remain unclear, with conflicting reports. We sought to determine if prescriber use of Oregon's PDMP led to fewer high-risk opioid prescriptions or overdose events. We conducted a retrospective cohort study from October 2011 through October 2014, using statewide PDMP data, hospitalization registry, and vital records. Early PDMP registrants (n = 927) were matched with clinicians who never registered during the study period, using baseline prescribing metrics in a propensity score. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine prescribing trends after PDMP registration, using 2-month intervals. We found a statewide decline in measures of per capita opioid prescribing. However, compared with nonregistrants, PDMP registrants did not subsequently have significantly fewer patients receiving high-dose prescriptions, overlapping opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions, inappropriate prescriptions, prescriptions from multiple prescribers, or overdose events. At baseline, frequent PDMP users wrote fewer high-risk opioid prescriptions than infrequent users; this persisted during follow-up with few significant group differences in trend. Thus, although opioid prescribing declined statewide after implementing the PDMP, registrants did not show greater declines than nonregistrants. PERSPECTIVE: Factors other than PDMP use may have had greater influence on prescribing trends. Refinements in the PDMP program and related policies may be necessary to increase PDMP effects.

Association Between Initial Opioid Prescribing Patterns and Subsequent Long-Term Use Among Opioid-Naïve Patients: A Statewide Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Long-term efficacy of opioids for non-cancer pain is unproven, but risks argue for cautious prescribing. Few data suggest how long or how much opioid can be prescribed for opioid-naïve patients without inadvertently promoting long-term use. OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between initial opioid prescribing patterns and likelihood of long-term use among opioid-naïve patients. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study; data from Oregon resident prescriptions linked to death certificates and hospital discharges. PARTICIPANTS: Patients filling opioid prescriptions between October 1, 2012, and September 30, 2013, with no opioid fills for the previous 365 days. Subgroup analyses examined patients under age 45 who did not die in the follow-up year, excluding most cancer or palliative care patients. MAIN MEASURES: Exposure: Numbers of prescription fills and cumulative morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) dispensed during 30 days following opioid initiation ("initiation month"). OUTCOME: Proportion of patients with six or more opioid fills during the subsequent year ("long-term users"). KEY RESULTS: There were 536,767 opioid-naïve patients who filled an opioid prescription. Of these, 26,785 (5.0 %) became long-term users. Numbers of fills and cumulative MMEs during the initiation month were associated with long-term use. Among patients under age 45 using short-acting opioids who did not die in the follow-up year, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for long-term use among those receiving two fills versus one was 2.25 (95 % CI: 2.17, 2.33). Compared to those who received < 120 total MMEs, those who received between 400 and 799 had an OR of 2.96 (95 % CI: 2.81, 3.11). Patients initiating with long-acting opioids had a higher risk of long-term use than those initiating with short-acting drugs. CONCLUSIONS: Early opioid prescribing patterns are associated with long-term use. While patient characteristics are important, clinicians have greater control over initial prescribing. Our findings may help minimize the risk of inadvertently initiating long-term opioid use.

Oregon's strategy to confront prescription opioid misuse: a case study.

Governor John Kitzhaber appointed a Prescription Drug Taskforce to address Oregon's opioid epidemic. This case study reviews the Taskforce's participation in the National Governors Association State Policy Academy on Reducing Prescription Drug Abuse. To address the challenge of the misuse and abuse of prescription opioids, the Taskforce developed a strategy for practice change, community education and enhanced access to safe opioid disposal using stakeholder meetings, consensus development, and five action steps: (1) fewer pills in circulation, (2) educate prescribers and the public on the risks of opioid use, (3) foster safe disposal of unused medication, (4) provide treatment for opioid dependence, and (5) continued leadership from the Governor, health plans and health professionals. Although the story is ongoing, there are lessons for leadership in other states and for public health and medical practitioners throughout the country.