Trends in opioid prescribing by plastic surgeons for medicare part D patients.

Abstract

Previous analyses of Medicare part D opioid prescribing by plastic surgeons demonstrated decreasing prescription rates, but data in past 2017 have not been well-described. This study aims to elucidate more recent patterns in plastic surgery opioid prescribing. Opioid prescriptions by plastic surgeons from 2013 to 2022 were retrospectively extracted from the CMS Medicare part D Prescribers database. Analyses were normalized to per million Medicare part D beneficiaries. From 2013 to 2022, 997,765 opioid prescriptions were extracted from the database. The top 2 opioids prescribed were hydrocodone (520,893; 52.2%) and oxycodone (307,206; 30.8%). The top 2 states by volume of opioid prescriptions were Mississippi (50,992 claims per million beneficiaries) and Georgia (48,911). The Southern region had the most opioid prescriptions (590,086 claims per million beneficiaries), while the Northeast had the least (120,671). The opioid prescribing rate decreased across the study period, from 3360 to 1554 prescriptions per million beneficiaries (53.8% decrease). The number of patients with an opioid prescription also decreased from 2211 per million beneficiaries in 2013 to 1272 in 2022 (42.5% decrease). Similarly, the total days supplied decreased from 24,608 days per million beneficiaries (2013) to 6824 (2022), a 72.3% decrease. Opioid prescribing for plastic surgery has declined from 2013 to 2022. Despite these promising trends, it is important to continue efforts to monitor and control opioid prescribing.