States that require physicians to refer to a patient's past opioid prescriptions via databases lowered opioid misuse and abuse, according to Medical Express.
Researchers analyzed 10 states that had such a requirement.
Here are four things to know:
1. States had a decline in the number of Medicare beneficiaries who received a more than seven-month opioid supply in a six-month period when imposing the database referral requirement.
2. The number of Medicare opioid users who obtained prescriptions from five or more physicians decreased by 8 percent.
3. Medicare opioid users who received prescriptions from five or more pharmacies also fell by more than 15 percent.
4. The requirement had the greatest impact on low-income disabled users and those Medicare patients who shopped around for opioid prescriptions. These groups typically have the highest misuse and abuse opioid rates.
