The True Cost of Prescription Opioids

Abstract

This research paper investigates whether payments made to physicians by opioid manufacturers influence their prescribing behaviour for opioid medications. The relationship has been explored primarily using payments data from CMS OpenPayments, prescribing data from Medicare Part D Provider Utilization and Payment Data and county-level statistical & socio-economic data from University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. Explanation and sources of covariates have been provided in the Data Dictionary. Using Fixed Effects Panel Data Analysis (with Robust Covariance Matrix estimates), higher payments were observed to lead to higher prescription rates and therefore, the impact and consequences of the association, in light of the US Opioid Crisis, were evaluated.