A cross-section of opioid prescribers that typically do not prescribe large volumes of opioids, including primary care physicians, surgeons and non-physician health care providers, frequently prescribe opioids to high-risk patients, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The findings suggest that high-volume prescribers, including “pill mill” doctors, should not be the sole focus of public health efforts to curb the opioid abuse epidemic. The study also found that “opioid shoppers,” patients who obtain prescriptions from multiple doctors and pharmacies, are much less common than other high-risk patient groups, suggesting why policy solutions focused on these patients have not yielded larger reductions in opioid overdoses.
