The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated their U.S. Opioid Dispensing Rate Maps, showing the geographic distribution, at both State and county levels, of retail opioid prescriptions dispensed per year from 2006 to 2019. The update indicates that a steady increase in overall opioid dispensing rates peaked in 2012 at more than 255 million and a dispensing rate of 81.3 prescriptions per 100 persons. However, the overall dispensing rate then declined from 2012 to 2019, and in 2019, the dispensing rate had fallen to the lowest levels since data collection began, to 46.7 prescriptions per 100 persons. The data also indicates that, while overall dispensing rates decline, certain areas of the country continue to see high dispensing rates.
- Ann Tucker