Work

Opioid manufacturer payments to hospitalists and hospitalists' prescribing of opioids on discharge

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Marketing payments from opioid manufacturers to outpatient physicians are associated with opioid prescribing. We examined the association between opioid-related payments to hospitalists and opioid prescribing at discharge from 2015 to 2023. We linked Medicare Part B Physicians & Other Practitioners public use files, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Open Payments data, and Medicare Part D Prescribers Public Use Files to identify hospitalists' opioid-related payments and opioid prescribing. Of 67,408 hospitalists, 360 (0.53%) received payments, which declined from 581 in 2015 to 65 in 2023. Each payment was associated with a 0.94 percentage-point increase (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60 to 1.28) in the proportion of outpatient prescription claims for opioids, equivalent to 112 additional opioid claims (95% CI, 70.78 to 154.73). Total payment value was not associated with opioid claims. Opioid-related payments to hospitalists are uncommon and declining, but even minimal exposure is associated with greater opioid prescribing.

Source: Journal of Hospital Medicine

DOI: 10.1002/jhm.70538

Authors: Daniel L. Smithers, Timothy S. Anderson, Shoshana J. Herzig

Institutions: Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard University, University of Pittsburgh, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare

Subfield: Issues, ethics and legal aspects

Field: Nursing

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, American Heart Association