Real-World Data Study Finds Black and Hispanic Patients Receive Less Opioids During End-of-Life Care

A recently published study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that Black and Hispanic patients with cancer were significantly less likely to receive opioids during end-of-life care. In addition, the results, which came from nearly 320,000 Medicare patients 65 and older, also showed that Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to be urine screened for drug use.

According to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, “The study comes at a time when tightened restrictions on prescription opioids, prompted by the national epidemic of opioid abuse, have significantly decreased availability to these important drugs. Although the restrictions are not directed at patients with cancer, researchers have documented a drop in patient access to opioid medications, even at the end of life.”

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(Source: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, January 10^th, 2022)