Trends in Ambulatory Physician Opioid Prescription in the United States, 1997-2009

In the United States, from 1997-2009, (1) variable increases in opioid prescription across ambulatory care settings were not accounted for by changing demographics and health care access; (2) significant disparities existed in opioid prescription as a function of age, gender, race/ethnicity, and payer source; and (3) for back pain, increasing opioid prescription was not accounted for by changing incidence.