Prevalence and distribution of high‐risk prescription opioid use in the United States, 2011–2016

Purpose Despite the efforts of many stakeholders to reduce the risk of opioid overdose, there is limited information on the prevalence of high‐risk prescription opioid use in the US. Methods Descriptive analysis of a nationally representative 5% random sample of anonymized, longitudinal, individual‐level prescription claims from IQVIA LRx between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2016 among individuals ages 18 years or older that used a retail pharmacy. High‐risk opioid use was defined as ≥50 morphine milligram equivalents per day and/or having concurrent dispensing of a benzodiazepine based on overlapping days of coverage. Results The prevalence of high‐risk opioid use among adults in the US decreased from 12.0% in 2011 to 9.4% in 2016 (p