The belief that small groups of opioid prescribers are responsible for the opioid overdose epidemic is wrong, according to 2013 Medicare Part D (prescription drug coverage) claims for Schedule II opioid prescriptions.
A research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine (2016;176:259-261) examined data from prescriber specialties. A total of 56,516,854 claims for opioids (including hydrocodone, oxycodone, fentanyl, morphine, methadone, hydromorphone, oxymorphone, meperidine, codeine, opium or