TABLE 1.
Patterns of opioid prescribing by opioid prescribing rank, 2013 to 2018 (n = 32,876). Practitioners who prescribed opioids in multiple years are counted more than once.
| Prescribing patterns per year | Rank based on total OME (mg/g) prescribed per year | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 1% of opioid prescribers (n = 1339) | Top 2%–10% of opioid prescribers (n = 12,072) | Top 11%–50% of opioid prescribers (n = 53,649) | Bottom 50% of opioid prescribers (n = 67,070) | |
| Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | |
| No. patients prescribed opioids per practitioner | 259 (199–328) | 151 (111–203) | 55 (29–95) | 4 (2–12) |
| No. opioid dispensings per practitioner | 1491 (1121–1959) | 668 (496–911) | 127 (62–245) | 6 (2–14) |
| OME grams per prescriber | 1382 (1234–1654) | 505 (399–688) | 60 (23–140) | 0.9 (0.2–2.6) |
| Opioid dispensings per patient, mean a | 3 (2–3) | 2 (2–3) | 2 (1–2) | 1 (1–1) |
| OME mgs per patient, mean a | 902 (671–1217) | 583 (418–811) | 296 (190–461) | 119 (76–182) |
| OME mgs per dispensing, mean a | 451 (370–561) | 360 (296–444) | 242 (173–329) | 109 (73–154) |
Abbreviations: IQR, interquartile range; OME, oral morphine equivalent.
a
Mean Is calculated on log scale (geometric mean).