Coventry Reports Continued Drop of Claims With High Opioid Use

Claims involving long-term use of high dosages of opioids continued to drop in 2018, according to a drug trends report from Coventry. The percentage of claims with 90 or more days of opioid use exceeding the equivalent of 90 milligrams of morphine fell to 7% in 2018 from 7.4% in 2017. In 2015, 8.8% of claims in Coventry’s book involved long-term use of high-dose opioids. Nikki Wilson, director of pharmacy product development for Coventry, said during a webinar exploring drug trends that higher morphine equivalent doses, or MEDs, are associated with an increased risk of death. The r...