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|Articles|November 10, 2017

The role of ophthalmologists in the opioid epidemic

An observational cohort study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, used Medicare Part D data to assess the number of opioid prescriptions written by ophthalmologists in the United States.

 

I am Dr Doug Katsev for the Medical News Minute.

The opioid epidemic costs payers and consumers billions of dollars.

What role does the ophthalmologist play?

An observational cohort study, published in JAMA Ophthalmology, used Medicare Part D data to assess the number of opioid prescriptions written by ophthalmologists in the United States.

The average number of opioid prescriptions written by ophthalmologists annually was 7, with more than 89% writing 10 prescriptions or less.

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