This is from a JAMA Internet Open Paper written by Zhang et al. (2023). The authors used data from 2016-2022 from the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database, which claims to capture 92% of retail pharmacy prescriptions.
First, there are fewer opioid prescriptions (with larger profit margins):
Between January 2016 and December 2022, the monthly surgical opioid dispensing rate decreased from 661.2 prescriptions per 100,000 people to 426.0 prescriptions (35.6%). The ratio fell 0.89% monthly between January 2016 and January 2020 (95% CI, -0.96% to -0.81%), before falling sharply and rebounding between February and July 2020, when it fell 0.45% ( 95% CI, -0.61% to −0.29%) monthly from August 2020
Additionally, when opioids are prescribed, the number of opioids per prescription also decreases (dense margin):
Monthly average total MME count [morphine milligram equivalents ] Between January 2016 and December 2022, there was a decrease from 414.0 to 222.0 prescriptions (approximately 44 tablets containing 5 mg of hydrocodone) per prescription (46.4%). The amount decreased by 0.47% (95% CI, -0.60% to -0.35%) per month between January 2016 and May 2017, and by 1.34% (95% CI, -0.60% to -0.35%) per month between May 2017 and January 2020. CI, -1.38% to -1.29%). There were increases and decreases between February and July 2020, with the volume falling by 0.39% per month from August 2020 (95% CI, -0.44% to -0.34%).
You can read the full article here.
