Prescribing Patterns of High Opioid and Antibiotic Prescribers, Washington State, 2021: Do Some Prescribers Have Trouble Saying No?

David Trey Evans; Katarina Kamenar; Jessica Zering; Marisa D'Angeli; Erica J Stohs

doi:10.1093/ofid/ofae657

Prescribing Patterns of High Opioid and Antibiotic Prescribers, Washington State, 2021: Do Some Prescribers Have Trouble Saying No?

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2024 Nov 5;11(12):ofae657. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofae657. eCollection 2024 Dec.

Authors

David Trey Evans¹, Katarina Kamenar¹, Jessica Zering¹, Marisa D'Angeli¹, Erica J Stohs^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Healthcare Associated Infections Program, Washington State Department of Health, Shoreline, Washington, USA.
² Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

Abstract

Among Washington State emergency and family medicine physicians, high prescribers of opioids were 2.9 times more likely to be high prescribers of antibiotics in the Medicare Part D population. The inverse relationship showed the same association. Antimicrobial and opioid stewards should collaborate on shared goals to implement effective interventions.

Keywords: antimicrobial stewardship; opioids; physician prescribing pattern.