A new study published online last week in JAMA Network Open has found that opioid use in Florida dropped after the state introduced a law that brought restrictions on opioid prescribing for acute pain in 2018.
Opioid prescriptions for acute pain have been limited to a 3-day supply under the law.
According to the law, doctors and pharmacists must review a patient’s opioid prescription history using the state’s prescription drug monitoring database.
After the law was introduced in July 2018, the number of new opioid users per month dropped to 16 percent, according to the study.
The study, conducted by the researchers of the University of Florida, also found that the number of new opioid users continues to decline each month.
The researchers found that the average opioid supply dropped from 5.4 days to 3 days. They explained that the law has played a key role in an immediate drop in hydrocodone use.
Study author Prof. Juan Hincapie-Castillo said, “The Florida law is among the most restrictive in the country by limiting patients to a three-day opioid supply for acute pain.”
“We expected to find a decrease in opioid use following the law, but we did not anticipate the significant decline in the number of users,” added Hincapie-Castillo.
Study co-author Prof. Amie Goodin said, “In July 2018, people were walking away with six days’ worth of medications. By the end of the study period eight months later, people were walking away with three days’ medications — half the amount of treatment for all the same conditions.”
The law only imposes a restriction on opioid prescriptions for acute pain and not for chronic pain conditions, such as trauma and cancer, which is why it is still not well-defined in terms of diagnosis.
In addition, the law could create confusion among prescribing doctors, according to the researchers.
It has been found that over 30 states have laws that restrict opioid prescriptions, and many other states have been trying to impose similar laws.
