(Picture of AHRQ Logo)

Hospitalizations

(Line graph that shows rate of hospitalizations per 100,000 population by year for 2002-2012)

Between 2002 and 2012, the rate of hospitalizations for opioid overuse among adults 18 years and older increased by more than 60 percent. By 2012, U.S. hospitals recorded a total of 709,500 opioid-related hospitalizations. Rates were highest in the Northeast and Midwest regions.

Costs

(Bar graph showing total spending on prescription opioids in billions by year for 2002-2012 with bars for out of pocket cost and total expenditures)

Total spending on prescription opioids (painkillers like morphine, codeine, fentanyl, and oxycodone) more than doubled between 2002 and 2012, from $4.1 billion to $9 billion. During this same time, total out-of-pocket spending fell by more than 30 percent.

Demographics

(Line graph showing age demographics for rate of hospitalizations by year for 2002-2012 with lines for 18-24, 25-44, 45-64, 65-84, and 85+ age groups)

In 2002, young adults between the ages of 25 and 44 had the highest hospitalization rates for opioid overuse. Over the next 10 years, hospitalization rates for other age groups grew more rapidly. The highest rate is currently in adults between the ages of 45 and 64.

Sources: Pamela L Owens, Ph.D., Marguerite L. Barrett, M.S., Audrey J. Weiss, Ph.D., Raynard E. Washington, Ph.D., and Richard Kronick, Ph.D.

AHRQ Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Brief #177: Hospital Inpatient Utilization Related to Opioid Overuse Among Adults, 1993-2012, http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb177-Hospitalizations-for-Opioid-Overuse.jsp