Opioid prescriptions dropping in some provinces, report says
2019-10-17 from cbc.ca
About eight per cent fewer people in Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia were prescribed opioids in 2018 than in 2013, an encouraging trend in the opioid crisis, according to a new report.
Last year, about one in eight people were prescribed opioids — based on data from Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and British Columbia — while only one in 12 started a new opioid therapy.
"This I think is an encouraging trend," said Michael Gaucher, author of the report and director of pharmaceuticals and health workforce information services at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) in Ottawa, which looked at how prescribing practices have changed for opioids, such as codeine, oxycodone and hydromorphone.
"With the opioid crisis and the concern around the quantity of opioids prescribed in Canada, it's encouraging to really see fewer people starting on opioids," said Gaucher, a former hospital pharmacist.
The findings translate to about 220,000 fewer people being prescribed opioids in 2018 in the four provinces, and about 175,000 fewer people starting the medications.
As for what might have contributed to the declines, Gaucher pointed to the 2017 introduction of updated prescribing guidelines for opioids, and increased overall awareness during the crisis, which put both prescription and illicit opioids "front and centre."
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