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Heins SE, Buttorff C, Armstrong C, Pacula RL. Claims-based measures of prescription opioid utilization: A practical guide for researchers. Drug Alcohol Depend 2021; 228:109087. [PMID: 34598101 PMCID: PMC8595838 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2021.109087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Given the increased attention to the opioid epidemic and the role of inappropriate prescribing, there has been a marked increase in the number of studies using claims data to study opioid use and policies designed to curb misuse. Our objective is to review the medical literature for recent studies that use claims data to construct opioid use measures and to develop a guide for researchers using these measures. METHODS We searched for articles relating to opioid use measured in health insurance claims data using a defined set of search terms for the years 2014-2020. Original research articles based in the United States that used claims-based measures of opioid utilization were included and information on the study population and measures of any opioid use, quantity of opioid use, new opioid use, chronic opioid use, multiple providers, and overlapping prescriptions was abstracted. RESULTS A total of 164 articles met inclusion criteria. Any opioid use was the most commonly included measure, defined by 85 studies. This was followed by quantity of opioids (68 studies), chronic opioid use (53 studies), overlapping prescriptions (28 studies), and multiple providers (8 studies). Each measure contained multiple, distinct definitions with considerable variation in how each was operationalized. CONCLUSIONS Claims-based opioid utilization measures are commonly used in research, but definitions vary significantly from study to study. Researchers should carefully consider which opioid utilization measures and definitions are most appropriate for their study and recognize how different definitions may influence study results.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Rosalie Liccardo Pacula
- RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, USA,Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, University of Southern California
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3
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Brown-Taylor L, Beckner A, Scaff KE, Fritz JM, Buys MJ, Patel S, Bayless K, Brooke BS. Relationships between physical therapy intervention and opioid use: A scoping review. PM R 2021; 14:837-854. [PMID: 34153178 DOI: 10.1002/pmrj.12654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To synthesize available evidence that has examined the relationship between physical therapy (PT) and opioid use. TYPE: Scoping Review LITERATURE SURVEY: Data sources including Google Scholar, Embase, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL were searched for English articles up to October 24, 2019 using terms ("physical therapy"[Title/Abstract] OR physiotherapy[Title/Abstract] OR rehabilitation[Title/Abstract]) AND (opiate*[Title/Abstract] OR opioid*[Title/Abstract]). METHODOLOGY Included studies evaluated a PT intervention and reported an opioid-use outcome. Data were extracted to describe the PT intervention, patient sample, opioid-use measurement, and results of any time or group comparisons. Study quality was evaluated with Joanna Briggs checklists based on study design. SYNTHESIS Thirty studies were included that evaluated PT in at least one of these seven categories: interdisciplinary program (n = 8), modalities (n = 3), treatment (n = 3), utilization (n = 2), content (n = 3), timing (n = 13), and location (n = 2). Mixed results were reported for reduced opioid-use after interdisciplinary care and after PT modalities. Utilizing PT was associated with lower odds (ranging from 0.2-0.8) of using opioid medication for persons with low back pain (LBP) and injured workers; however, guideline-adherent care did not further reduce opioid use for persons with LBP. Early PT utilization after index visit for spine or joint pain and after orthopedic surgery was also associated with lower odds of using opioid medications (ranging from 0.27-0.93). Emergency department PT care was not associated with fewer opioid prescriptions than standard emergency department care. PT in a rehabilitation center after total knee replacement was not associated with lower opioid use than inpatient PT. CONCLUSIONS The relationship between timing of PT and opioid use was evaluated in 13 of 30 studies for a variety of patient populations. Eight of these 13 studies reported a relationship between early PT and reduced subsequent opioid use, making the largest sample of studies in this scoping review with supporting evidence. There is limited and inconclusive evidence to establish whether the content and/or location of PT interventions improves outcomes because of heterogeneity between studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey Brown-Taylor
- Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center of Innovation, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Medpace Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| | - Aaron Beckner
- Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center of Innovation, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Ochsner Health System, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Katie E Scaff
- Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center, Walla Walla, Washington, USA
| | - Julie M Fritz
- Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, College of Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Michael J Buys
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of Anesthesiology, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Shardool Patel
- Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center of Innovation, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Department of Anesthesiology, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Kim Bayless
- Department of Anesthesiology, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| | - Benjamin S Brooke
- Informatics, Decision-Enhancement, and Analytic Sciences (IDEAS) Center of Innovation, VA Salt Lake City Health Care System, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.,Division of Vascular Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
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de Oliveira Costa J, Bruno C, Baranwal N, Gisev N, Dobbins TA, Degenhardt L, Pearson SA. Variations in Long-term Opioid Therapy Definitions: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies Using Routinely Collected Data (2000-2019). Br J Clin Pharmacol 2021; 87:3706-3720. [PMID: 33629352 DOI: 10.1111/bcp.14798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Routinely collected data have been increasingly used to assess long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) patterns, with very little guidance on how to measure LTOT from these data sources. We conducted a systematic review of studies published between January 2000 and July 2019 to catalogue LTOT definitions, the rationale for definitions and LTOT rates in observational research using routinely collected data in nonsurgical settings. We screened 4056 abstracts, 210 full-text manuscripts and included 128 studies, mostly from the United States (81%) and published between 2015 and 2019 (69%). We identified 78 definitions of LTOT, commonly operationalised as 90 days of use within a year (23%). Studies often used multiple criteria to derive definitions (60%), mostly based on measures of duration, such as supply days/days of use (66%), episode length (21%) or prescription fills within specified time periods (12%). Definitions were based on previous publications (63%), clinical judgment (16%) or empirical data (3%); 10% of studies applied more than one definition. LTOT definition was not provided with enough details for replication in 14 studies and 38 studies did not specify the opioids evaluated. Rates of LTOT within study populations ranged from 0.2% to 57% according to study design and definition used. We observed a substantial rise in the last 5 years in studies evaluating LTOT with large variability in the definitions used and poor reporting of the rationale and implementation of definitions. This variation impacts on research reproducibility, comparability of findings and the development of strategies aiming to curb therapy that is not guideline-recommended.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claudia Bruno
- Centre for Big Data Research in Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Navya Baranwal
- Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Natasa Gisev
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Timothy A Dobbins
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Louisa Degenhardt
- National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Sallie-Anne Pearson
- Centre for Big Data Research in Health, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Menzies Centre for Health Policy, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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