Use of Predictive Analytics to Identify Unhealthy Opioid Use and Guide Intervention.

Objective: The authors aimed to use the newly developed Opioid Risk Stratification Tool to identify individuals who may be at risk for unhealthy opioid use and to examine the impact of applying a mailing and engagement intervention to this population and their prescribers, with the goal of reducing high-risk prescribing behaviors, opioid medication use, and mortality rates.

Methods: A nonrandomized controlled study was conducted with members from two Medicaid managed care organizations. In both the intervention (N=131) and control (N=187) groups, an algorithm identified members at moderate to high risk for hazardous opioid use.