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Publications

Trajectories of prescription opioids filled over time

This retrospective cohort study aimed to identify one or more groups that followed a pattern of chronic, high prescription use and quantify individuals’ time-dependent probabilities of belonging to a high-utilizer group. It analyzed data from 52,456 adults aged 18-45 enrolled in Medicaid from 2009-2017 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, who filled at least one prescription for an opioid analgesic. The study used group-based trajectory modeling to identify groups of individuals with distinct patterns of prescription opioid use over time. It concludes that individuals at risk of sustained opioid utilization can be identified early in their clinical course from limited observational data.