• Posted April 14, 2026

Long-Term Opioid Prescriptions Fall By About A Quarter

Long-term opioid prescriptions have declined dramatically in the United States, reflecting progress made against America’s opioid epidemic, a new study says.

Patients on active long-term opioid treatment – defined as 90 days or longer – fell by nearly a quarter (24%) between 2015 and 2023, researchers recently reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

But more than 4 million Americans still have a long-term opioid prescription, putting them at ongoing risk of overdose, researchers warned.

“Nearly 1 in 9 patients receiving prescription opioids were still chronic opioid users in 2023, highlighting the importance of developing and implementing evidence-based guidelines for chronic pain management,” lead researcher Thuy Nguyen said in a news release. She’s an assistant professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

For the study, researchers analyzed trends in U.S. opioid use using a database that captures 92% of all American retail pharmacy prescriptions.

Results showed that in 2023, patients on long-term opioid therapy accounted for just under 12% of all patients prescribed any opioids.

Overall, the number of people on long-term opioids fell from about 5.6 million in 2015 to 4.2 million in 2023.

Researchers also observed a shift in those receiving long-term opioid therapy. Average patient age rose from nearly 53 in 2015 to almost 61 in 2023.

In addition, Medicare now covers the most long-term opioid prescriptions, increasing from about 39% in 2015 to 49% in 2023.

Average daily doses of long-term opioids have decreased, declining from about 48 morphine milligram equivalents in 2015 to just under 39 in 2023.

Doctors also have been more cautious prescribing opioids long-term with benzodiazepines, researchers found.

Co-prescriptions with benzodiazepines declined from 44% in 2015 to 34% in 2023, the study showed. This drug combination dramatically increases a person’s risk of overdose.

However, co-prescriptions increased with other drugs.

Gabapentinoid prescriptions alongside long-term opioids rose from 47% to 59%, researchers found. Gabapentinoids are used to treat nerve pain, and do not carry the same overdose risk as benzodiazepine drugs.

These results show there’s a pressing need to develop better ways to treat pain, said senior researcher Dr. Pooja Lagisetty, an associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School.

“With almost 5 million Americans on long-term prescription opioids for chronic pain, and likely millions more who are taking shorter courses of prescription opioids for acute pain, most clinicians are likely to care for someone using prescription opioids for pain highlighting the pressing importance for investing in better treatment models for pain,” Lagisetty said.

More information

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has more on long-term opioid therapy.

SOURCE: University of Michigan School of Public Health, news release, April 8, 2026