A disturbing report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that on average, nearly 50 people die each day in the United States from a prescription drug overdose.
In a statement about the CDC findings, Dr. Robert Wah, president of the American Medical Association, said the key to addressing the overdose issue “must include a strong emphasis on increasing access to substance abuse treatment and prevention efforts across the nation.”
“This new data will help provide states and public health authorities with important information that can be used to reduce the crisis of prescription drug abuse, diversion, overdose and death,” he added.
In their report, the CDC said some states have been successful in curbing the number of overdose deaths by attacking the problem on two fronts. First, the CDC notes that some states have passed legislation that has made it harder for so called “pill mills” to operate. Other states are also making it easier for EMTs and medical professionals to have access to the drug naloxone, which has been effective in reversing the effects of an overdose when administered at the right time.
Despite the advances in preventing prescription drug overdose, nearly four dozen people are still losing their lives every day. Dr. Wah said the AMA is continuing to work with other organizations to address the issue.
“We recognize that this is a multipronged problem and have long-advocated for an evidence-based, public health approach to address this crisis,” Dr. Wah said. “We continue to work with national organizations such as the National Governors Association to advance such an approach.”
The CDC provided a list of recommendations that they believe will reduce the number of prescription overdoses, including:
- More educational opportunities for physicians.
- Increased prevention efforts, including improved access to support tools at the point of care.
- Wider implementation of drug take-back programs.
- Improved overdose prevention measures, including access to naloxone.
Dr. Silverman comments
Prescription drug overdose is an agonizing problem. It’s so terrible to hear of people dying from overdoses of prescriptive medication, especially when these types of medication can do so much good.
As a surgeon, I have to deal with patient’s postoperative pain appropriately. Currently, the only reliable means to manage this pain is postoperative narcotics. This can be complicated and challenging. With new technology, hopefully pain can become easier to manage with long-term nerve blocks that provide extended analgesia (numbness) after surgery. This will reduce the need for postoperative narcotics.
Related source: AMA