Publication
Accepted at Productions and Operations Management (2023)
I. Attari, J.E. Helm, J. Mejia
Selected for Presentation at the Supply Chain Management SIG at MSOM Conference, 2024
Finalist, INFORMS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Best Student Paper Award, 2023
Dan R. and Catherine M. Dalton Ph.D. Publication Award, Kelley School of Business, 2023
Media Coverage: IU News, News Wise, Indiana Public Media, Louisville Public Media, The Courier Times
Working Papers
Turning a Blind Eye: Buyer-Supplier Relationships and Drug Diversion in the Prescription Opioid Supply Chain
I. Attari, J.E. Helm, R. Wiedmer, J. Mejia
Target Journal: Management Science
Abstract: The opioid crisis has claimed over 645,000 lives in the United States since the 1990s. Previous research has demonstrated that the crisis is largely initiated and fueled by the oversupply of prescription opioids by pharmaceutical companies. This trend has raised significant concerns regarding the effectiveness of government monitoring efforts, which rely on pharmaceutical suppliers to identify and report suspicious pharmacy orders. In response, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has primarily blamed large national suppliers and increased regulatory pressure on them. Contrasting with this focus, we provide evidence that pharmacies with more excessive dispensing rely more on secondary supply sources rather than large national suppliers. Using the DEA’s ARCOS database and leveraging the 2010 OxyContin reformulation as a quasi-experiment, we analyze millions of opioid transactions between 610 suppliers and 90,920 pharmacies in the US from 2006 to 2014. Our results show that independent pharmacies sourcing a higher share of opioids from small regional suppliers and chain pharmacies engaging in self-distribution of drugs through their vertically integrated supply network exhibit higher levels of diversion. Specifically, a 10 percentage point increase in the use of small suppliers and self-distribution is associated with a 2.6% and 7.2% increase in OxyContin diversion by independent and chain pharmacies, respectively. We further provide evidence on how the sourcing strategies of pharmacies are associated with higher prescription opioid-related mortality rates at the county level. These findings suggest that focusing regulatory efforts solely on large national suppliers may overlook critical channels through which drug diversion occurs. By highlighting the roles of small suppliers and self-distribution practices, our study underscores the need for a more comprehensive regulatory approach to effectively combat the opioid epidemic.
Work in Progress
Detecting and Addressing Drug Diversion at the Pharmacy Level
I. Attari, M. Zhalechian, J.E. Helm
Patient to Bed Placement Optimization: Improving Coordination for a Hospital Command Center
Collaboration with Michigan Medicine
A. Dean, M. Zhalechian, I. Attari, MP. Van Oyen, M. Garifullin, J. Pardo
Analyzing the Impact of Cannabis Legalization on Health, Societal, and Workplace Outcomes
A. Boloori, I. Attari, M. Freeman, R. Jindal
Other Publications
A Simulation Analysis of Analytics-Driven Community-Based Re-Integration Programs
2021 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC), IEEE
I. Attari, P. Crain, P. Shi, J.E. Helm, and N. Adams
The Effect of Rational-experiential Thinking Style on Stock-flow Performance: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Reflection
Current Psychology (2021)
R. Hendijani, F. Ghafourian, I. Attari