Governor Walker Announces 32% Decrease in Opioid Prescriptions Since January 2015

MADISON – Governor Scott Walker today announced continued progress in the fight against opioid abuse with a 32% decrease in opioid prescriptions dispensed since January 2015. The report released today by the Controlled Substances Board at the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS), analyzes the Wisconsin Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) data from Q3 of 2018 (July 1, 2018 – September 30, 2018) as part of the controlled substance dispensing trends. Data released shows a continued decline in opioid and other monitored prescriptions throughout 2018.

“This program is another example of how Wisconsin is leading the nation in combating the opioid epidemic,” said Governor Walker. “It takes the combined effort of medical professionals, law enforcement, and local communities to make a difference and I am proud of the role the Wisconsin PDMP is playing in this fight.”

In the past 12 months the report shows:

• 80,900 fewer opioid prescriptions were dispensed representing a 9% reduction over the past 12 months.
• A 4% increase in Suboxone® prescriptions, one of the most common medications used as part of Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder.
• All six types of data-driven concerning patient history alerts have declined in frequency.

In addition to the decrease in opioid prescriptions over the past 12 months, the report also highlights:

• A 25% decrease in the total number of monitored prescriptions dispensed, over 690,000 fewer prescriptions since Q1 2015.
• A 22% decrease in benzodiazepine prescriptions dispensed or 131,700 fewer prescriptions since Q1 2015.

“The continued decline of opioids dispensed shows that the program is working,” said Wisconsin DSPS Secretary Laura Gutiérrez. “It is great to see the Wisconsin PDMP’s continued successes quarter after quarter.”

The report also includes information on the number of requests for data made by health care professionals about their patients.

The Wisconsin PDMP was deployed in June 2013 and is administered by DSPS. Since its inception, the PDMP has primarily been a tool to help healthcare professionals make more informed decisions about prescribing and dispensing controlled substance prescriptions to patients. It also discloses data as authorized by law to governmental and law enforcement agencies. It stores over 54 million prescription records submitted by over 2,000 pharmacies and dispensing practitioners, with an average of over 19,000 queries performed each day between July 1 and September 30, 2018.

Click here for a copy of the CSB report.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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