The opioid epidemic has been raging for more than a decade, fracturing communities and families, and yet the tragedy of the epidemic has been both exacerbated and masked by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the human toll of the opioid epidemic is being addressed differently across the country, efforts in managing prescription opioids and in supporting medication-assisted treatment are showing measurable progress – but there is little agreement on appropriate goals for either.

This webinar will include key findings from a recent report released by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science – Prescription Opioid Trends in the United States: Measuring and understanding progress in the opioid crisis:

• Total national prescription opioid use has declined by 60% from peak volume in 2011 following another year of double-digit decline expected in 2020
• COVID -19 impact on use of prescription opioids has been modest and largely rebounded to baseline levels since June 2020
• Co-prescribing of benzodiazepines and opioids – consistently identified as having increased risk of abuse and/or death – has declined in recent years, but still occurs in more than 1 million patients over the age of 65 years

The study was produced independently by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science as a public service, without industry or government funding.

Speakers and panelists

• Mark Bicket, MD, Co-Director, Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network; Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Medicine
• Kelly J. Clark, MD, Addiction Crisis Solutions
• Emily Einstein, PhD, National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Patrice Harris, MD, Immediate Past President, American Medical Association
• Gary Mendell, Founder & CEO, Shatterproof
• Murray Aitken, Executive Director, IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science
• Michael Kleinrock, Research Director, IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science

Agenda

Welcome and introduction: Murray Aitken

Summary of key research findings in our report: Michael Kleinrock, IQVIA Institute, principal author

Moderated discussion among panelists: Murray Aitken

• Mark Bicket, MD, Co-Director, Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network; Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School of Medicine
• Kelly J. Clark, MD, Addiction Crisis Solutions
• Emily Einstein, PhD, National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Gary Mendell, Founder & CEO, Shatterproof

Q&A