OBJECTIVES: Prescription opioids(POs) are often prescribed to those suffering pain. The United States is facing an epidemic, with an increasing number of overdose deaths each yearMETHODS: Data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey(MEPS) was analyzed to examine recent trends in POs. This study looks at the last five years of available data(2010-2014) from the Prescribed Medicines files of MEPS. MME/day is calculated using the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provided conversion factors. The length a patient has taken a medication(LPTM) is calculated from the survey round and panel data. PED for MME/day is estimated using self-reported out-of-pocket-pay(OOP). RESULTS: Throughout 2010-2014, there is an average of 59.1 MME/day for prescriptions, decreasing on average by -3.19 MME/day per year. Only 67.17% of patients receive prescriptions within the 50 MME/day threshold recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC)CONCLUSIONS: Many patients receive prescriptions well above the CDC threshold. As expected, POs are significantly inelastic. Despite the small upward trend in elasticity, OOP is unlikely to have an effect on demand for MME/day. This study shows that while there is progress in reducing the average MME/day, using OOP and LPTM may not be effective as methods to decrease the proportion of patients receiving POs over the CDC threshold. https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/calculating_total_daily_dose-a.pdf