How Do We Tackle the Opioid Epidemic?
The over-prescription of opioids is a significant public health issue in the United States. For example, opioids are often prescribed for minor injuries unnecessarily. This, in turn, increases the risk of addiction.
New research presented at the 2017 annual conference for the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) argues that new policies and guidelines are urgently needed to tackle the over-prescription of opioids.
These, it was argued, should pay particular attention to the types of injuries for which opioids are currently being used as treatment, as well as the number of pills being supplied in each case.
The lead author comments: “To limit the escalation of the opioid epidemic in [the United States], it's critical to keep these medications limited to patients whose injuries absolutely require them, and limit exposure to opioids for all other patients."