According to a study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology in July, 2017, the role of medical professionals as it relates to America’s current opioid crisis, has been called into question.
The study, which surveyed 720 women, concluded that the amount of opioids prescribed after cesarean delivery generally exceeds the amount consumed by a significant margin, leading to substantial amounts of leftover medication.
As September 18-24 has been designated as “Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week”, we’d like to draw attention to the fact that medical professionals also play a role in fixing the problem. Overprescription by doctors is the first step in a devastating spiral of availability, which makes the development of dependency that much more likely.
Lower opioid prescription correlates with lower consumption without a correlating increase in pain scores or patient satisfaction. Therefore, we are calling upon the community of medical professionals to carefully reconsider their prescribing practices, and where possible, cut back on the number of opioids being ordered.
Recent Comments