Home > Association between receipt of overlapping opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions from multiple prescribers and overdose risk.

Chua, Kao-Ping and Brummett, Chad M and Ng, Sophia and Bohnert, Amy S B (2021) Association between receipt of overlapping opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions from multiple prescribers and overdose risk. JAMA Network Open, 4, (8), e2120353. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.20353.

External website: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/f...

Question: Is overdose risk increased when overlapping opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions are written by multiple prescribers vs 1 prescriber?

Findings: In this cohort study of 529 053 patients with private insurance or Medicare Advantage, overdose risk was increased 1.8-fold when opioid-benzodiazepine overlap involved prescriptions from multiple prescribers vs 1 prescriber. This increase remained statistically significant after adjusting for prescribing patterns, demographics, and comorbidities.

Meaning: This study found that observed factors did not fully account for the association between receipt of overlapping opioid and benzodiazepine prescriptions from multiple prescribers and overdose risk. This finding suggests that other factors, such as poor care coordination, may play a role.


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