Figure 2.
Trends in Adjusted Annual Rates of Discontinuation from LTOT from 2012 to 2017. For each year, the rate of discontinuation from LTOT is shown for LTOT users who initiated opioid therapy in the prior calendar year and whose 12-month follow-up period began at some point in the calendar year. The number in parentheses under each calendar year indicates the total number of LTOT users who initiated therapy in the prior year. For example, the 2012 cohort includes the 57,579 LTOT users who initiated their opioid therapy in 2011 with a follow-up period occurring some time in 2012. The sample size in 2017 is smaller because there are fewer LTOT users who initiated therapy early enough (i.e., in quarter 1 of 2016) to have a 1-year follow-up period in 2017. Rates of LTOT discontinuation were estimated using multivariate linear probability models, controlling for age, sex, race/ethnicity, state, original reason for Medicare enrollment, Medicaid enrollment, Medicare Advantage enrollment, diagnosis of chronic non-cancer pain, rurality, and total number of chronic conditions. Error bars indicate 95% CI.