Report finds physicians concerned over missing addiction signs during pandemic

Approximately 70% of physicians feared that they missed signs of drug misuse during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data from Quest Diagnostics.

Researchers analyzed nearly 5 million de-identified aggregated test results, including over 475,000 from 2020, as well as survey data from more than 500 primary care physicians.

These results arrived in the wake of approximately 97,000 overdose deaths between March 2020 and March 2021, as reported by CDC.

"Today, America faces a triple threat to our collective health as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, mental health issues increase and drug misuse skyrockets," Harvey W. Kaufman, MD, senior medical director and director, Health Trends Research Program for Quest Diagnostics and co-author of the report, said in the release. "Quest undertook this Health Trends research to provide insights into physician's perspectives on the impact of the pandemic on the drug crisis and their confidence in their ability to manage patients amid the risks. We discovered that physicians on the front lines are worried about their patients prescribed controlled medications and need comprehensive resources and education to identify and combat drug misuse."

Among the discoveries reported in the study, 67% of physicians polled expressed concern that they missed signs of substance use disorders among one or more of their patients during the pandemic. In addition, 94% of physicians reported greater instances among their patients dealing with stress, anxiety or other mental health issues because of the pandemic and are concerned about a possible correlation between rising mental health issues and prescription drug misuse.

Concurrently, 98% of physicians from the study revealed concerns about misuse of controlled substances in general, compared with 75% reporting similar concerns with opioids.

The study revealed another key concern, with 75% of polled physicians believing telehealth service limited their ability to spot warning signs of drug misuse. A reported 91% of doctors in the study expressed confidence in recognizing signs of prescription drug misuse during in-office interactions with patients, but only 50% of participants revealed similar confidence for the same during telehealth appointments.

Nearly 80% of physicians feared their patients would turn to illicit fentanyl if unable to secure prescription medication, while 86% expressed concern that fentanyl would lead to more deaths than prescribed opioids.

Gabapentin served as the chief prescription medication for chronic pain in those instances, with 87% of physicians reported having prescribed it in the previous 6 months. That stood in contrast with the 65% of physicians polled who prescribed opioids.

"Physicians serve a crucial role in reducing opioid misuse and addiction, but it requires having the right tools and processes in place to help identify at-risk patients," Creighton Drury, CEO of Partnership to End Addiction, said in the release.

"This has never been more important, as we continue to experience the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and are faced with an increasingly dire opioid crisis in the U.S."