Hassle Costs versus Information: How Do Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Reduce Opioid Prescribing?
研究处方药监测计划通过信息提供和麻烦成本两种机制减少阿片类药物处方，发现麻烦成本是主要因素，但医生仍为最需要的患者开药。
We study hassle costs versus information provision in explaining how prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) decrease opioid prescribing. PDMPs aim to reduce opioid prescribing through information provision but may also unintentionally affect prescribing through the hassle of required record checks. We analyze Kentucky’s landmark PDMP to disentangle these two mechanisms. Hassle costs reduce opioid prescribing across the board, including to opioid-naïve patients; however, physicians continue to prescribe opioids to patients who would benefit the most. Although information also affects prescribing, hassle costs explain the majority of the decline. Introducing a cost to prescribing high-risk medications improves the targeting of treatment.