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Impacts of the New York State COVID-19 Disaster Emergency Orders on prescription dispensing for opioids and medication for opioid use disorder.
Suri, Abhinav; Feaster, Daniel J; Balise, Raymond R; Quinn, James; Nunes, Edward V; Gilbert, Louisa; El-Bassel, Nabila; Rundle, Andrew G.
  • Suri A; Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Feaster DJ; University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL.
  • Balise RR; University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL.
  • Quinn J; Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Nunes EV; New York State Psychiatric Institute, NY, NY and Columbia University Irving Medical Center, Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Gilbert L; Columbia University School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • El-Bassel N; Columbia University School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • Rundle AG; Mailman School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Addiction ; 2022 Nov 18.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2283063
ABSTRACT

AIMS:

To examine whether the March 2020 New York State (NYS) SARS-CoV-2 Emergency Orders were associated with an initial surge in opioid dispensing and a longer-term reduction in access to medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).

DESIGN:

Time-series analyses of the dispensing of non-MOUD opioid and MOUD prescriptions using IQVIA's Longitudinal Prescription Claims Database (n=16,087,429) in NYS by week, from 1/1/2018, to 7/31/2020. IQVIA is a multinational company that provides biopharmaceutical development and commercial outsourcing services. SETTING AND

PARTICIPANTS:

NYS Zone Improvement Plan (ZIP) Codes (n=1,218) in which prescriptions were dispensed. MEASUREMENT For each ZIP Code, for each week, the following dispensing measures were calculated total weekly morphine milligram equivalents/day (MME/day); total weekly MME/day dispensed via prescriptions for ≤7 days; and the count of MOUD prescriptions dispensed. Differences in dispensing metrics, comparing each week in 2020 with corresponding weeks in 2019, were calculated for each ZIP Code.

RESULTS:

During the study period, weekly MME/day per ZIP Code of dispensed non-MOUD opioids steadily declined. Compared with the difference in dispensing between 2019 and 2020 during the first week in 2020, there was a significantly larger drop in dispensed weekly total MME/day beginning March 21 2020 and lasting until the week of April 17 (p<0.05 for each week). Mean weekly total MME/day dispensed from March 21 to April 17, 2020 was 17.07% lower (95% confidence interval [CI] 13.97%, 20.17%) than in the 4 weeks before March 21, almost entirely due to a drop in MME/day dispensed for prescriptions of ≤7 days. There was not a discernable drop in MOUD dispensing associated with the period of the Emergency Orders. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE New York State Emergency Orders in March 2020 to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission and preserve hospital capacity appeared to be associated with a decline in dispensing of opioids not used as MOUD. Access to MOUD appeared to be unaffected by the Orders, likely because of policy initiatives by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Experimental Studies / Prognostic study Language: English Journal subject: Substance-Related Disorders Year: 2022 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: International databases Database: MEDLINE Type of study: Experimental Studies / Prognostic study Language: English Journal subject: Substance-Related Disorders Year: 2022 Document Type: Article