About The Study: This study found that during 2016 to 2022, the rate and size of opioid prescriptions from U.S. surgeons declined, but these declines were slower after mid-2020 compared with before 2020. During the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the opioid dispensing rate declined, potentially owing to decreased surgical volume, while opioid prescription size increased, potentially because surgeons wrote larger discharge prescriptions owing to barriers to obtaining refills. However, these changes were transient.
Authors: Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, is the corresponding author.
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(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.46426)
