Number of opioid prescriptions falls

The number of opioid prescriptions is falling, although there is a ‘concerning’ rise among younger people according to new research published by Monash University.
 
The analysis, published in two separate journals, puts a spotlight on the impact of measures introduced on the PBS to reduce rising opioid-related harms.
                                          
One paper published in the Pain Medicine journal found the number of people being prescribed opioids for three months and longer fell significantly from 2018 to 2022.
 
Using the Population Level Analysis and Reporting (POLAR) dataset, which contains electronic health data of patients from 562 general practices across Eastern Victoria, researchers found that 3.6% of patients prescribed opioids were still being prescribed them after three months in 2022.
 
That compares to 5.4% in 2018.
 
Another study published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy found prescription rates for most opioids fell but identified a rise of 263% in tapentadol prescriptions between 2017 and 2022.
 
The same paper described a fall in initiation rates across most population cohorts, although noted a 69% increase in the 15–24 age group.
 
The authors did not identify a clear reason for the rise in prescription rates among this demographic, with the Deputy Director of Monash Addiction Research Centre Professor Suzanne Nielsen saying the trend needed further investigation.
 
‘We know opioids are important for pain management, and we want to see them used wisely,’ she said.
 
‘We know some regions have access to pain management services, which can drive increased opioid use.
 
‘Although overall reductions are positive, we want to see equitable access for pain management, and access to opioids where they are clinically appropriate.’
 
Researchers also found that disadvantaged, regional and remote patients had higher prescribing rates but had significant declines over the timeframe of the study.
 
The most disadvantaged groups registered a 12% decline in the number of opioid prescriptions, while the least disadvantaged saw a 6% increase.
 
In 2020, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) introduced changes to the way opioids were prescribed in Australia, describing pharmaceutical opioids as responsible ‘for far more deaths and poisoning hospitalisations in Australia than illegal opioids such as heroin’.
 
It said at the time that opioid harms accounted for almost 150 hospitalisations and 14 emergency department admissions every day, with an average of three daily deaths involving opioid use.
 
Measures introduced included new PBS subsidies for smaller quantities of opioids for acute pain, and changes to the authority process required for PBS prescriptions.
 
While the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy article noted the positive effect of restrictions, authors said opioid prescribing rates in Australia ‘remain high’.
 
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