Pain Prescriptions Vary by Socioeconomic FactorsApril 27, 2004
Research Summary
New research finds that doctors were more likely to prescribe potent opioid drugs, which have a greater potential for addiction, to lesser-educated, lower-income patients, Health Day News reported April 16.Examining data from the national Medical Expenditure Panel Survey for the years 1996 to 1999, researchers at Duke University Medical Center looked at the prescribed use of codeine, morphine, hydromorphone, hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, fentanyl, and other drugs used for back pain. The researchers found that where patients live, what type of insurance they have, and patients' education level and income were factors that affected prescribing practices among physicians.
"We looked at the pattern of use and the trend of use. We found there is a wide variation in opioid use among individuals with different education levels and income," said Xuemei Luo, a research associate at Duke University Medical Center.
In particular, the study found that patients living in the South were more likely to have opioids prescribed to them than in any other region of the country. Low-income patients and those with less than a 12th-grade education were more likely to get opioids. And patients with public insurance were prescribed opioids more often than those with private insurance.
The study's findings are published in the April 15, 2004 issue of the journal Spine.
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