Opioid Prescribing Is Increasing in U.S. EDs

White patients are significantly more likely to receive opioids than are patients of other races or ethnicities.

In 2001, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations established standards for consistent evaluation and treatment of pain that currently are used as quality indicators. Since that time, there has been a trend of increased prescribing of opioids. This study sought to determine whether these trends apply to U.S. emergency departments and whether opioid prescribing differs by patients’ races and ethnicities. Data were obtained from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, a nationally representative sample of ED visits (except federal, military, and Veterans Affairs hospitals), from 1993 to 2005.

Of nearly 375,000 visits, 42% were pain-related. Opioid prescribing for pain-related visits increased significantl…

Reviewing Author

John A. Marx, MD, FAAEM, FACEP