Table 3.

Profile of Opioid Use Episodes Among Adults in 1997–2005

Episode Type	Percent Of Total Episodes	Mean Duration (Days)	Prescribed Daily Dose (mg morphine equivalents)	Average Daily Dose (mg morphine equivalents)	Mean Days Supply	Percent Of Total Days Supply Dispensed Across all Episodes	Percent of Total Morphine Equivalents Dispensed Across All Episodes
Group Health Cooperative (N=416,094 episodes of opioid use)
Acute (N=334,367)	80.4 %	14 days	32.2 mg	24.3 mg	9.4 days	19.1 %	12.4 %
Episodic (N=58,287)	14.0 %	194 days	30.2 mg	4.4 mg	29.3 days	10.4 %	7.0 %
Long-term – Lower Dose (N=17,216)	4.1 %	824 days	24.4 mg	8.1 mg	341.2 days	35.8 %	17.6 %
Long-term -Higher Dose (N=6,224)	1.5 %	994 days	64.4 mg	57.8 mg	915.4 days	34.7 %	63.0 %
Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (N=2,675,704 episodes of opioid use)
Acute (N=2,199,894)	82.2 %	12 days	55.3 mg	36.5 mg	7.2 days	18.1 %	16.1 %
Episodic (N=349,875)	13.1 %	197 days	48.8 mg	6.0 mg	27.7 days	11.1 %	10.3 %
Long-term – Lower Dose (N=90,814)	3.4 %	893 days	29.5 mg	8.8 mg	358.9 days	37.4 %	19.3 %
Long-term -Higher dose (N=35,121)	1.3 %	1047 days	72.1 mg	51.0 mg	829.6 days	33.4 %	54.4 %