Opioids: long-term prescribing trends

Abstract

OpenPrescribing.net1 Curtis HJ Goldacre B Open Prescribing: normalised data and software tool to research trends in English NHS primary care prescribing 1998-2016. BMJ Open. 2018; 8: e019921 Crossref PubMed Scopus (32) Google Scholar is a beautiful thing. Without so much as a login, you can produce long-term and up-to-date trends in National Health Service (NHS) primary care prescribing, visualised in exportable graphics. Go have a play. You can examine patterns for all of England, a clinical commissioning group, or just one practice. You can profile whole drug classes or a specific medicine. There is no charge. This democracy of access is remarkable. In their study published in The Lancet Psychiatry, Helen J Curtis and colleagues 2 Curtis HJ Croker R Walker AJ Richards GC Quinlan J Goldacre B Opioid prescribing trends and geographical variation in England, 1998–2018: a retrospective database study. Lancet Psychiatry. 2018; (published online Dec 20.)http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(18)30471-1 PubMed Scopus (111) Google Scholar give us a case demonstration in how their tool can be used to monitor, compare, audit, and inform. In doing so, they provide new insight into the monitoring of prescription opioids. Opioid prescribing trends and geographical variation in England, 1998–2018: a retrospective database studyFailing to account for opioid strength would substantially underestimate the true increase in opioid prescribing in the National Health Service (NHS) in England. Our findings support calls for greater action to promote best practice in chronic pain prescribing and to reduce geographical variation. This study provides a model for routine monitoring of opioid prescribing to aid targeting of interventions to reduce high-dose prescribing. Full-Text PDF