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EXPRESS: The Negative Spillover Effect of Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances on the Opioid Epidemic

Nakyung Kyung & Xiaoyu Liu

Production and Operations Management2026https://doi.org/10.1177/10591478261442316article
FT50UTD24AJG 4ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

The opioid epidemic poses widespread societal challenges. In response, electronic prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS), which requires prescribers to use the e-prescribing system, has begun attracting attention to combat the opioid epidemic by helping prescribers detect doctor shoppers and prevent forged prescriptions. However, a concern is that limited access to opioids after EPCS mandates may cause drug users to cross borders and travel to other areas without EPCS. Grounded in the tension on the efficacy of EPCS, this study aims to assess the impact of EPCS on the opioid dispensing rate. Leveraging a US county-level data set from 2010 to 2020 and employing a quasi-experiment setup with matching, we find that counties without an EPCS mandate but adjacent to a state with an EPCS mandate experience an increase in opioid dispensing rates. Specifically, a neighboring-state EPCS mandate is associated with a 7.56% increase in the opioid dispensing rate in an adjacent county on average. The findings reveal that the negative spillover effect spreads deeper in areas with lenient illicit drug controls, in urban regions, and in areas with high poverty levels. Moreover, we estimate the overall efficacy of EPCS mandates by combining both the positive direct effect and the negative spillover effect of EPCS. We discuss theoretical and policy insights for the effective operation of EPCS mandates.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/10591478261442316

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@article{nakyung2026,
  title        = {{EXPRESS: The Negative Spillover Effect of Electronic Prescribing for Controlled Substances on the Opioid Epidemic}},
  author       = {Nakyung Kyung & Xiaoyu Liu},
  journal      = {Production and Operations Management},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/10591478261442316},
}

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.