Table 2.
Summary of opioid use in study population, 2007-16
| Opioid use | Beneficiaries | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial | Aged Medicare | Disabled Medicare | |
| Annual use prevalence (%; No; 95% CI)* | 14.3 (n=18 721 915; 14.3 to 14.3) | 25.7 (n=3 847 676; 25.6 to 25.7) | 51.5 (n=1 128 088; 51.3 to 51.6) |
| Quarterly use prevalence (%; No; 95% CI)† | 6.7 (n=8 596 001; 6.6 to 6.7) | 14.4 (n=8 005 022; 14.3 to 14.4) | 39.0 (n=3 021 750; 38.8 to 39.1) |
| Average daily dose for people using in quarter (MME; 95% CI)‡ | 17 (17 to 17) | 20 (20 to 20) | 63 (63 to 64) |
| Opioid prescriptions per person year* (No; 95% CI) | 0.6 (0.6 to 0.6) | 1.5 (1.5 to 1.5) | 6.2 (6.2 to 6.3) |
| Supply of opioids per person year (MME; 95% CI)* | 421 (419 to 423) | 1033 (1026 to 1040) | 9068 (8988 to 9147) |
| Supply of opioids per person year for people using in year (MME; 95% CI) | 2600 (2588 to 2612) | 3939 (3914 to 3963) | 17 028 (16 889 to 17 167) |
MME=milligram morphine equivalents. Confidence intervals calculated using clustered standard errors to account for repeated observations of beneficiaries.
*
Denominators are person years from table 1.
†
Denominators are person quarters from table 1.
‡
Average daily dose calculated as total MME of opioids filled for use in quarter divided by the number of days of insurance enrollment in the quarter.