University of Arkansas Wins $538,000 Grant to Study Opioid Prescribing Methods

A pair of researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will study how opioids are prescribed and dispensed by doctors and pharmacists.

The $538,781 grant by the National Insitute on Drug Abuse will cover three years’ of study by Geoff Curran and Bradley Martin at the UAMS College of Pharmacy.

Opioids are pain relievers that include codeine, hydrocodone, morphine and oxycodone.

The researchers will look at the line between legitimate pain management and the potential for misuse or abuse. They will interview 15 pharmacists and 15 primary care providers in each of four states: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky and Washington.

UAMS says prescription opioid use disorders are the fastest growing form of drug abuse and the most common cause of accidental drug overdose in the United States.