What we are studying
One of the ways that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried to address the opioid epidemic is by approving opioid analgesic products that are designed to be harder to manipulate and abuse. These so-called ‘abuse-deterrent formulations’ (ADFs) are intended to make certain types of abuse, such as crushing a tablet to snort or dissolving a capsule to inject, more difficult or less rewarding.
As the healthcare community works to improve its stewardship of opioid analgesics, many questions remain as to what role ADF opioids may play in this effort. What factors influence a practitioner’s decision to prescribe an ADF opioid versus a traditional formulation? How do state laws and health insurance coverage limit the use of ADF opioids? To what degree are traditional formulations being used in place of ADF opioids because of cost or other considerations?