Opioid Prescribing by Emergency Physicians and Long-Term Use in Older Patients

As opioid deaths continue to rise across the U.S., there is focus on the causes of opioid dependence. Given that one third of long-term opioid users are dependent and few state that the physician who prescribed their initial opioids discussed the risks (Physician's First Watch Dec 12 2016), we should focus on these initial opioid prescriptions, many of which may be from emergency departments (EDs).

Researchers examined whether opioid prescribing rates varied among emergency physicians in the same EDs and whether long-term opioid use (≥180 days of opioids supplied within 1 year) differed between patients treated by high-intensity and low-intensity prescribers. Using a Medicare database, the researchers identified patients without cancer who h…