WSU Applebaum Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice Victoria Tutag Lehr and School of Medicine Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences Cynthia Arfken are the authors of "Commercial and public payer opioid analgesic prescribing policies: a case study" recently published in the journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy.

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The article examines opioid analgesic prescribing policies among the major commercial and public payers in Michigan.

"The opioid epidemic continues, yet opioid analgesics are required medications for individuals with pain conditions," said Dr. Tutag Lehr. "The impact of these policies on patient care is still unknown, but we started by categorizing the number and type of policies implemented from 2012 through 2018 in Michigan to understand the complexity of the issue."

The research was supported by a grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation.