diff --git a/db/index.ts b/db/index.ts
index 888821269e..3edd346a4f 100644
--- a/db/index.ts
+++ b/db/index.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,13 @@
 import { drizzle } from 'drizzle-orm/postgres-js'
 import postgres from 'postgres'
 
-const connectionString = process.env.DATABASE_URL!
+// In production, use the Vercel-generated POSTGRES_URL
+// In development, use the direct DATABASE_URL
+const connectionString = process.env.POSTGRES_URL || process.env.DATABASE_URL!
 
 // Disable prefetch as it is not supported for "Transaction" pool mode
-const client = postgres(connectionString, { prepare: false })
+const client = postgres(connectionString, {
+  prepare: false,
+  ssl: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production',
+})
 export const db = drizzle(client)