Michigan residents obtained 8.1 million prescriptions for opioids in 2018-- down from a peak of 11.4 million in 2015, but still much higher than before the opioid crisis began, based on state data.
About 59% of the 2018 prescriptions were obtained by people age 55 and older.
Below is a series of maps and an online database looking at the 2018 data at the county and ZIP Code level. The data comes from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, which tracks sales of controlled prescription drugs.
For each of the interactive maps, you can click on a county or ZIP Code to see the underlying data.
First is a map of Michigan showing the number of 2018 opioid doses prescribed per patient by ZIP Code. “Patient” is defined as an individual obtaining a specific type of opioid. Individuals will be counted more than once if they obtained different types of opioids.
The underlying data in the map also is available in this online database. If you search by county or community, the ZIP Codes are ranked by average dose per patient.
The state average is 207 doses per patient. (One again, an individual is counted as a separate patient each time he or she is prescribed a different type of opioid, which means some individuals are counted more than once.)
Next is a map showing 2018 opioid prescriptions per capita, which compares the number of opioids compared to the county’s total population.
The interactive map below shows the change in opioid prescriptions between 2009 and 2015, when the number of opioid prescriptions jumped 41% statewide. Nationally, the number of opioid prescriptions peaked around 2010-11; in Michigan, it peaked in 2015.
Finally, below is an online data that shows the number of opioid prescriptions by county in 2009, 2015, 2017 and 2018.
While the number of prescriptions increased an average of 41% between 2009 and 2015, that average increase shrunk to 0.3% between 2009 and 2018.
Opioid prescriptions by county, 2009-18