Opioid prescriptions in Tennessee outnumber people: 3 things to know

Tennessee physicians wrote more than 7.8 million opioid prescriptions in 2015 for the state’s 6.5 million residents, according to The Tennessean.

Advertisement

Here are three things to know.

  1. Tennessee ranks second in the nation behind Alabama for states with the most prescriptions of opioids, according to IMS Health Data. Tennessee had 1.18 prescriptions per capita, compared to Alabama’s 1.2 per person.
  2. The state has seen a drop in prescriptions since 2013, when physicians wrote 8.5 million scripts. However, Tennessee still remains a leader in prescribing oxycodone, hydrocodone and Percocet, according to the report.
  3. In 2014, 1,263 Tennesseans died from an opioid overdose tied to either pain killers or heroin.

 

More articles on population health:

CDC: Brain cancer now killing more children than leukemia
Michael Bloomberg donates $300M to Johns Hopkins School of Public Health to address opioid, gun crises
Nevada research institute, Renown Health partner with 23andMe on community health studies

Becker’s 3rd Annual Fall Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit is the top tier event that the people leading the future of pharmacy convene. This 3-day event is built specifically for Chief Pharmacy Officers and senior pharmacy leaders. The sessions examine the workforce, financial and clinical priorities shaping pharmacy today. Becker’s is where candid discussions flourish and new ideas thrive. Becker's 3rd Annual Fall Chief Pharmacy Officer Summit

Advertisement

Next Up in Care Coordination

Advertisement

Comments are closed.