Coprescribing of Opiates and Benzodiazepines Has Declined

After a 40% increase in coprescribing of benzodiazepines and opioid medications from 2002 to 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered a black box warning about coprescribing these agents in 2016. Using an all-payer, U.S. national prescribing database, CDC investigators examined trends in prescribing opioids, benzodiazepines, and both agents concurrently since that time.

During the 4 years after the black box warning was instituted, opioid prescriptions decreased by 23% (from 48 million to 37 million annual prescriptions), benzodiazepine prescriptions decreased by 14% (from 21.5 million to 18.5 million), and coprescriptions decreased by 42% (from 5 million to 3 million). The number of patients who received new concurrent prescripti…