Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39718760›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of clinical pharmacy2025

Opioid prescribing prevalence and initiation rates in Victoria, Australia: insights from primary care data during a period of opioid policy changes (2017-2022).

Zeynep Balikci, Ulyana Kondratova, Louisa Picco, Suzanne Nielsen, Ting Xia

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Article in International journal of clinical pharmacy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Trial
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Zeynep Balikci *Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Level 2 Building D, 47-49 Moorooduc Highway, Frankston, Melbourne, VIC, 3199, Australia.
Ulyana Kondratova *Monash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Level 2 Building D, 47-49 Moorooduc Highway, Frankston, Melbourne, VIC, 3199, Australia.
Louisa PiccoMonash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Level 2 Building D, 47-49 Moorooduc Highway, Frankston, Melbourne, VIC, 3199, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7593-3209
Suzanne NielsenMonash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Level 2 Building D, 47-49 Moorooduc Highway, Frankston, Melbourne, VIC, 3199, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5341-1055
Ting XiaMonash Addiction Research Centre, Eastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Level 2 Building D, 47-49 Moorooduc Highway, Frankston, Melbourne, VIC, 3199, Australia. Ting.xia@monash.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5033-6248

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council 2016909National Health and Medical Research Council 2025894National Health and Medical Research Council GNT2002193
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOpioid medications are widely prescribed for acute, chronic and cancer pain. In Australia, opioid prescribing rates remain high.

aimThis study aimed to document patterns of primary care opioid prescribing from 2017 to 2022 by demographic characteristics in Victoria, Australia.

methodThis study was a retrospective descriptive analysis, examining prescribing data sourced from the population level analysis and reporting general practice analytics platform. We examined monthly opioid prescription and initiation rates across diverse demographic factors such as age, gender, socioeconomic status (SES), and geographical location. Poisson regression was used to calculate rate ratios for the incidence of opioid initiation over time, adjusting for age, gender, and SES.

resultsBetween 2017 and 2022, tapentadol prescriptions increased by 263%, while prescription rates for other opioids declined. Females accounted for 53% of opioid prescriptions, but males had higher initiation rates. Initiation rates declined across most demographics, except for the 15-24 age group, which experienced a 69% increase. Socioeconomically disadvantaged and regional/remote populations showed higher prescribing rates but significant declines over time.

conclusionThis study contributes valuable insights into the prescribing trends in primary health settings. The findings suggest targeted interventions to address socioeconomic and regional disparities are needed, to ensure the quality use of opioids across diverse populations.

Indexed as

Analgesics, OpioidDrug PrescriptionsHealth PolicyPractice Patterns, Physicians'Primary Health CareAdolescentAdultAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPrevalenceRetrospective StudiesVictoriaYoung AdultAnalgesics, OpioidGeneral practiceHealth policyOpioidsPrescribingPrimary care

Identifiers

PMID39718760

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.