Impact of a physician-targeted letter on opioid prescribing.
Difference-in-differences
Information letter
Opioid prescribing
Prescription drugs
Journal
Journal of health economics
ISSN: 1879-1646
Titre abrégé: J Health Econ
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 8410622
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
07 2020
07 2020
Historique:
received:
20
08
2019
revised:
09
04
2020
accepted:
20
05
2020
pubmed:
28
6
2020
medline:
25
11
2021
entrez:
28
6
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
We study the effect of a physician-targeted nudge letter on opioid prescribing. In May 2017, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland sent a personal information letter to all physicians who had issued a prescription containing at least 100 tablets of paracetamol-codeine combination to a new patient. The aim of the letter was to draw the physicians' attention to their prescribing practices and to decrease the size of the first codeine prescription. Using individual level register data and a difference-in-differences strategy, we estimate that the letter decreased the average number of tablets purchased by new patients by 12.5 percent and the probability of a first purchase being at least 100 tablets by six percentage points. We also find that these effects were larger among consistent high prescribers. However, we do not find similar effects on other mild or strong opioids.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32592925
pii: S0167-6296(19)30789-1
doi: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2020.102344
pii:
doi:
Substances chimiques
Analgesics, Opioid
0
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Pagination
102344Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.