Changes In Opioid Prescriptions Across the US
Changes In Opioid Prescriptions Across the US
Changes In Opioid Prescriptions Across the US
This gif illustrates the changes in opioid prescribing rates in each state, year-by-year, from 2006 to 2016. Over the decade, the rates of neighboring states tend to follow similar trends — this is visible when blocks of red (decreases) or green (decreases) appear on the map. For example, the entire New England region saw a decrease in prescribing rates between 2008 and 2009, whereas most of the rest of the nation saw an increase.
A visualization of this type helps us to understand how geography affects the epidemic, and how this crisis has evolved over time. Interestingly, every state saw a decrease in prescribing rates between 2015 and 2016. However, these rates take population increases into account. This begs the question: How does the Opioid Commission best measure success — a decrease in opioid prescriptions per person on average, or a decrease in opioid prescriptions overall?
The data was sourced from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the rates are based on “retail opioid prescriptions dispensed per 100 persons.” A rate is assigned to each state based on the number of retail opioid prescriptions by county and the population of each respective county.