I was fortunate enough to attend the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society Annual Meeting earlier this month, and many fascinating topics were discussed by healthcare leaders from around the world. One subject that I found interesting was the link between pre-operative opioid use and the connection to poorer post-op outcomes for patients undergoing foot […]
More Than 1 in 10 Get Opioids For Ankle Sprains, But There’s A Catch
New research published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that nearly 12 percent of individuals diagnosed with an ankle sprain get a prescription for opioids within seven days of diagnosis, but there’s more to this story than just the headline. For the study, a team of researchers analyzed medical data from nearly 600,000 patients […]
Reducing Post Opt Pain Without Opioids
As doctors, our goal is to provide patients with the best care possible, from the moment they hobble into our office until they’ve achieved maximum recovery. During this time, we also want to make sure they are as comfortable as possible, but this isn’t always easy, because comfort and full healing don’t always go hand […]
Doctor Killed For Not Prescribing Opioids
An Indiana doctor who made the decision not to prescribe opioids to a woman because he didn’t feel it was the best way to treat her condition was shot and killed a couple hours later by the woman’s husband. The story actually happened over a year ago, but I ended up learning about it late […]
Concerning Stats On Opioid Use After Foot Surgery
Two new studies presented at the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society annual meeting in Boston found some concerning statistics when examining opioid use after routine ankle surgery. The findings suggest that more people are continuing to use opioids after therapeutic management for pain had concluded. According to researchers, chronic opioid use is “a major […]