Decreasing Trend in Emergency Department Opioid Prescribing Continues

Rates of emergency department (ED) visits with opioids prescribed at discharge dropped for adults overall and for both women and men between 2017 and 2018 and 2019 and 2020, according to a data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. 

“Opioids may be an effective treatment for chronic and acute pain when properly used,” wrote authors Loredana Santo, MD, MPH, and Susan M Schappert, MA, of the National Center for Health Statistics’ Division of Health Care Statistics, Ambulatory and Hospital Care Statistics Branch. “However, receiving an opioid prescription in the ED has been identified as a potential risk factor for long-term use.” 

For the study, researchers used data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS) to compare opioid prescribing to adults at ED discharge for the periods 2017-2018 and 2019-2020. 

In 2019 and 2020, rates of ED visits with opioids prescribed at discharge fell to 36.4 from 50.5 per 1000 adults in 2017 and 2018, according to the study. Rates were down to 39.9 from 56.6 per 1000 adults among women and 32.6 from 43.9 per 1000 adults among men. 

Opioids were prescribed at discharge in 8.1% of ED visits made by adults overall in 2019 and 2020 compared with 12.2% in 2017 and 2018, the study found. By race and ethnicity, opioid prescribing percentages were lower in 2019-2020 for non-Hispanic White and non-Hispanic Black adults, but the decrease among Hispanic adults was not significant. 

Percentages of ED visits with opioid prescribing were also down across private, Medicaid, Medicare, and uninsured visits in 2019 and 2020 compared with 2017 and 2018, researchers reported. 

“This report, based on the most recent estimates from NHAMCS on ED visits made by adults with opioids prescribed at discharge, shows a continued decreasing trend in opioid prescription patterns within the ED setting,” researchers wrote. 

Reference 
Santo L, Schappert SM. Opioids prescribed to adults at discharge from emergency departments: United States, 2017-2020. NCHS Data Brief. 2023;(461):1-8. doi:10.15620/cdc:122879