SUMMARIZE IN ONE PAGE

Project Title: Correlation between state opioid prescribing laws and state opioid overdose Hospitalization.

Project Description: The objective of this project is to determine if state opioid prescribing Laws Affect State opioid overdose hospitalizations. I propose to examine this question by comparing states with prescribing laws to state without prescribing laws.

Detailed Summary

(Statement of Problem/Hypothesis)

In recent years, opioid addiction and overdose have been a major source of concern for America as a nation. For instance, 2018 data shows that every day, 128 people die after overdosing on opioids (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2018). Another data shows that from 1999 to 2019, 450,000 Americans have died from opioids (CDC). This is no longer a problem affecting a small number of people, it is a full-blown epidemic as stated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

With opioid addiction and overdose becoming a major problem, some states now have laws that regulate the prescription of opioids. According to NCSL tracking, 33 states have regulations surrounding the prescription of opioids. While no data specifically shows that these laws affect overdose hospitalization, there is some evidence that these laws do affect overdose hospitalization. If states have strict prescribing laws, then they will have fewer opioid overdose hospitalization. Opioid Overdose Hospitalization has increased in recent years and this has put a strain on the healthcare system. This proposal aims to understand the correlation between these laws and overdose hospitalizations.

Relevant Prior Research

Prior research has been done to determine whether the adoption of state-level opioid-prescribing guidelines that specify a high-dose threshold is associated with trends in rates of opioid overdose hospitalizations. This research shows that states with opioid prescribing guidelines decreased overdose hospitalization. Our work will further assist with the understanding of the correlation between these laws and opioid overdose hospitalization.

Hypotheses, Method, and Design

I hypothesize that states with prescription guidelines or laws will have fewer opioid hospitalization rates. My hypothesis is based on the prescription laws and dosing guidelines. Some of these laws limit first-time opioid prescriptions to a certain number of days supply. In other cases, states also set dosage limits. With these limitations, hospitalization rate would be low compared to states without restrictions.

I plan to compare states with prescription laws to states without prescription laws. I also intend to use states hospitalization data. For instance, state hospital data provided by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). I plan to compare the rate of hospitalization in these states with prescription laws to the rate of hospitalization in states without prescription laws or guidelines. This follows a standard DD study design.

Data Sources

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project is going to be my main resource. I am also going to use the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a lot of my statistics. The National Conference of State Legislatures is another resource I am going to be using for this project. The NCSL is a good resource for state laws and policies. I will be focusing on six states with opioid prescription laws and five states without prescription laws or dosing guidelines. I am also going to be using Ballotpedia which is essentially an encyclopedia of American politics.