In an ambitious and first-of-its-kind study, the Washington Post has gone through nearly 380 million prescription-drug transactions from 2006 through 2012, offering a sobering and detailed look at America’s growing addiction to opioids.
The Post has also opened the database to all users, allowing them to see specific information about the opioid crisis in their areas. The numbers show more than 1.5 billion opioid pills being manufactured and distributed at Bay Area facilities in the seven-year period, with more than half of that total going to two counties.
The information, which comes from a database maintained by the Drug Enforcement Administration, follows the route of every prescription written during that time frame. The Post analyzed shipments of hydrocodone and oxycodone pills, which the report says account for three-quarters of the total opioid pill shipments to drug stores across the United States.
“The Post is making this data available at the county and state levels in order to help the public understand the impact of years of prescription pill shipments on their communities,” said the newspaper in a story published Thursday.
The survey was published by the Post, the paper said, so that readers can “learn how much hydrocodone and oxycodone went to individual states and counties, and which companies and distributors were responsible.”
In addition to the raw data, dramatic interactive charts illustrate the startling increase over those years in pain-pill use.
“The analysis shows that the volumes of the pills handled by the companies climbed as the epidemic surged, increasing 51 percent from 8.4 billion in 2006 to 12.6 billion in 2012,” said the paper.
Here’s are some of the numbers from the Bay Area counties on the list:
Alameda County
Opioid (oxycodone and hydrocodone) prescriptions filled, 2006-2012: 617,525,202
Main distributors: 343,511,800 were distributed by Kaiser Permanente and 176,777,200 were manufactured by Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, with Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Livermore receiving the highest number of pills — some 353 million, more than half the total for the county.
San Francisco
Opioid prescriptions filled: 127,684,111
Main distributors: 67,416,610 of the pills were distributed by Walgreen Co. and 68,001,190 were manufactured by Actavis Pharma, Inc., with Kaiser Foundation Health in San Francisco receiving the highest number.
San Mateo County
Opioid prescriptions filled: 109,509,962
Main distributors: 27,658,710 of the pills were distributed by Walgreen Co and 43,842,520 were manufactured by Actavis Pharma, Inc., with Kaiser Permanente Pharmacy in South San Francisco receiving the highest number of pills.
Santa Cruz County
Opioid prescriptions filled: 64,935,255
Main distributors: 22,646,500 of the pills were distributed by AmerisourceBergen Drug and 27,619,920 were manufactured by Actavis Pharma, Inc., with Walgreen’s Freedom pharmacy receiving the highest number of pills.
Santa Clara County
Opioid prescriptions filled: 202,878,545
Main distributors: 57,343,420 of the pills were distributed by AmerisourceBergen Drug and 75,688,098 were manufactured by Actavis Pharma, Inc., with Pharmerica’s Mountain View pharmacy receiving the highest number of pills.
Marin County
Opioid prescriptions filled: 54,100,786
Main distributors: 15,176,040 of the pills were distributed by AmerisourceBergen Drug and 19,678,700 were manufactured by SpecGx LLC., with Kaiser Foundation Hospital San Rafael receiving the highest number of pills.
Solano County
Opioid prescriptions filled: 104,266,026
Main distributors: 29,522,480 of the pills were distributed by AmerisourceBergen Drug and 40,556,040 were manufactured by SpecGx LLC., with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Vallejo receiving the highest number of pills.
Contra Costa County
Opioid prescriptions filled: 228,369,490
Main distributors: 58,153,765 of the pills were distributed by AmerisourceBergen Drug and 84,351,521 were manufactured by Actavis Pharma, Inc., with Kaiser Permanente’s pharmacy in Antioch receiving the highest number of pills.
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