Harvard-Educated Doctors Prescribe Far Fewer Opioids

Economists digging into the data behind America’s opioid addiction have uncovered a key trend in prescribing practices: doctors who went to top-ranked schools are dramatically less likely to hand out the pills.

The study, by Princeton University economists Molly Schnell and Janet Currie, leads this week’s economic research roundup. It’s followed by a related study that suggests we may be underestimating how lethal America’s opioid crisis has become. Then we take a peek around the world, where major labor inflows are fading, and end on a wonky look at how different flavors of central bank quantitative easing affect growth. Check this column each week for new and pertinent research.

Doctors who graduated from top schools prescribe way fewer opioids, according to this new National Bureau of Economic Research working paper. Looking at data spanning 2006 to 2014, they find that physicians trained at the lowest ranked U.S. medical schools prescribe nearly three times as many opioids per year as those educated at Harvard Medical School, which is the top-ranked program. Looking specifically at general practitioners, those trained at Harvard wrote 180 prescriptions a year, compared to 550 per year for the lowest-ranked.

Why is this happening? The authors say their results suggest that it’s probably medical training: the gap exists between prescribers from different schools who work at the same hospital, for instance, arguing against patient selection. Why do we care? While prescribing is slowly leveling off, pill addiction remains a widespread problem. Stemming its spread is important to public health and workforce readiness.

Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: Is There a Role for Physician Education?
Published August 2017
Available at the NBER website