November 2, 2018, Wisconsin Medical Society Medigram  

Wisconsin has seen a 32% decrease in opioid prescriptions dispensed since January 2015, according to a report released this week by the Controlled Substances Board at the state’s Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS).

The report, which analyzes data from the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) from July 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018, shows a continued decline in opioid and other monitored prescriptions throughout 2018.

“The data in this report is very promising, and it also shows that there is still much work to do,” said Wisconsin Medical Society CEO Clyde “Bud” Chumbley, MD, MBA. “I’m optimistic that we will continue to see progress through ongoing collaboration among physicians, other health care professionals and state policymakers to develop smart public policy and strategies that can help prevent addiction and help those who have become addicted.”

In the past 12 months:

• 80,900 fewer opioid prescriptions were dispensed, representing a 9% reduction over the past 12 months.
• There has been a 4% increase in Suboxone® prescriptions, one of the most common medications used as part of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder.
• All six types of data-driven alerts concerning patient history have declined in frequency.

 
In addition to the decrease in opioid prescriptions over the past 12 months, the report also highlights:

• A 25% decrease in the total number of monitored prescriptions dispensed, over 690,000 fewer prescriptions since Q1 2015.
• A 22% decrease in benzodiazepine prescriptions dispensed or 131,700 fewer prescriptions since Q1 2015.

 
The report also includes information on the number of requests for data made by health care professionals about their patients.