By the Numbers: 26 February 2018

By the Numbers: 26 February 2018

By the Numbers Graphic

21.2% & 16.1%

The prevalence of opioid prescribing in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in 2012 and 2016 respectively, according to a recent study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine -- Decline in Prescription Opioids Attributable to Decreases in Long-Term Use: A Retrospective Study in the Veterans Health Administration 2010–2016. The study's authors indicate that 2012 was the peak year for VHA opioid prescribing, but "(r)ecent VA opioid initiatives may be preventing patients from initiating long-term use."