JAMA Network
About The Study: From 2015 to 2023, the number of U.S. patients who were prescribed long-term opioid therapy declined, potentially owing to national opioid stewardship efforts and growing awareness of the risks. However, approximately 4 million to 5 million patients were prescribed long-term opioid therapy in 2023, depending on the definition used. Moreover, there were demographic shifts in the patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy over this period in that patients were older and the largest proportion now had opioid therapy covered by Medicare. Because older adults are at higher risk of adverse events from polypharmacy, the increased rates of coprescribing, particularly with gabapentinoids, raises additional safety concerns.
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