The Association between COVID-19 and Changes in Opioid Prescribing Patterns and Opioid-Related Overdoses: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background: Recent data suggest that restrictions related to COVID-19 resulted in changes in the prescribing patterns of opioids.

Aims: We sought to analyze Ontario health data for changes in frequencies among new and continuing users for the following opioid prescription characteristics: the type of opioid, the average daily dose, and the prescriber's specialty.

Methods: Utilizing data on the Ontario Health Data Platform, we defined two 149-day windows as "before" and "after" based on the initial COVID-19 provincial lockdown.