I did, but I felt that by picking a number of pills per day towards the lower end of the scale (4 - hydrocodone can be up to 12[1], oxycodone 5 times a day[2],

I did, but I felt that by picking a number of pills per day towards the lower end of the scale (4 - hydrocodone can be up to 12[1], oxycodone 5 times a day[2], and codeine 6-8[3]), and by showing that the calculated figure is significantly more than the actual figure (thus still reaching the actual figure even if a significant number of patients are better suited to non-opioid care), it accounts for that somewhat. I also wasn't attempting to do a rigorous accounting of all prescribed pills, but show that the 76bn figure _alone_ doesn't immediately point to overprescribing. It's a big number, but in context it doesn't seem out of the question. Furthermore, it doesn't rule out overprescribing, but that would require a more in-depth analysis than just looking that at the headline figure. [1] "the dose is usually not more than 12 tablets per day" - https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/hydrocodone-and-acetaminophen-oral-route/proper-use/drg-20074089 https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/hydrocodone-and... [2] "Roxicodone: Adults—10 to 30 milligrams (mg) every 4 hours as needed." https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/oxycodone-oral-route/proper-use/drg-20074193 https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/oxycodone-oral-... [3] "At first, 15 to 60 milligrams (mg) every 4 hours as needed[...] the dose is usually not more than 360 mg per day." At the maximum daily dose, that puts you at 6 60mg pils/day, and in my non-US experience, the lower strength pills are often used to increase the dose of the combining drug (acetaminophen/paracetamol) - I am on 90mg/day, but it is still 8 pills https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/codeine-oral-route/proper-use/drg-20074022 https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/codeine-oral-ro...