Table 1.
Specialization, prescribing, and PDMP use among opioid prescribers.
| All opioid prescribers | By opioid-prescribing volumea | By use of searcha | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Below median | Median to top decile | Top decile | No searches | Had searches | ||
| Specialization, No. (%) | ||||||
| Primary care physician | 4673 (28.5) | 1576 (19.3) | 2058 (31.2) | 1039 (63.5) | 1323 (19.4) | 3350 (35.1) |
| Specialist physician | 4537 (27.7) | 2630 (32.3) | 1810 (27.5) | 97 (5.9) | 2566 (37.6) | 1971 (20.6) |
| Nurse practitioner | 2745 (16.8) | 1231 (15.1) | 1194 (18.1) | 320 (19.5) | 798 (11.7) | 1947 (20.4) |
| Physician assistant | 2404 (14.7) | 1083 (13.3) | 1154 (17.5) | 167 (10.2) | 657 (9.6) | 1747 (18.3) |
| Opioid prescribing, mean ± SD | ||||||
| Days supplied | 747 ± 2858 | 29 ± 26 | 474 ± 407 | 5422 ± 7508 | 200 ± 765 | 1138 ± 3636 |
| Fills dispensed | 57.1 ± 131.4 | 8.8 ± 9.5 | 63.6 ± 63.5 | 270.9 ± 313.9 | 32.3 ± 77.8 | 74.7 ± 156.5 |
| Distinct patients | 31.9 ± 54.2 | 8.2 ± 9.2 | 46.9 ± 54.7 | 89.5 ± 99.7 | 24.6 ± 50.3 | 37.1 ± 56.2 |
| PDMP searching | ||||||
| Any search, No. (%) | 9555 (58.3) | 3454 (42.4) | 4592 (69.7) | 1509 (92.2) | 0 (0.0) | 9555 (100.0) |
| EMR-integrated,b No. (%) | 6995 (42.7) | 2496 (30.6) | 3353 (50.9) | 1146 (70.0) | 0 (0.0) | 6995 (73.2) |
| No. of searches, mean ± SD | 68.9 ± 301.5 | 17.2 ± 185.0 | 69.5 ± 249.3 | 324.3 ± 640.7 | 0.0 ± 0.0 | 118.1 ± 387.3 |
| Has PDMP account, No. (%) | 12 917 (78.9) | 5812 (71.3) | 5537 (84.1) | 1568 (95.8) | 3362 (49.3) | 9555 (100.0) |
| No. of clinicians | 16 378 | 8154 | 6587 | 1637 | 6823 | 9555 |
This table reports the characteristics of opioid prescribers overall, for subgroups defined by prescribing volume measured in days' supply, and for subgroups defined by whether the clinician searched the PDMP. Prescribing, searching, and account-holding were measured during the 180-day period starting February 1, 2023. Specialization derived from NPPES data. Specialization shares do not sum to 100% because specializations with small shares were omitted from the table. Primary care physicians are defined as those with specialization in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, or General Practice. Searches that were conducted by a prescriber's PDMP delegates were attributed to that prescriber.
Abbreviations: EMR, electronic medical record; NPPES, National Plan and Provider Enumeration System; PDMP, prescription drug monitoring program; SD, standard deviation.
aAcross all rows, all tests of equality of means across specified subgroups were statistically significant (P < .001).
bPrescribers with searches performed within an EMR system, which is possible when the EMR is integrated with the PDMP.