HCB News: What are some of those recent steps?

DB: Just this year the CDC published guidelines for opioid prescribing for chronic pain patients. Not surprisingly, one of the most effective ways to minimize the risks of opioid addiction is to not prescribe opioids. Non-opioid therapy is now preferred for chronic pain outside the context of active cancer, palliative, or end-of-life care. Further, when opioids are prescribed, it should only be at the lowest possible effective dose. And physicians are being urged to recognize what a life-changing decision the prescription of opioids can be.


Educating physicians, patients, and families on the tangible risks of this therapy is simply critical. It may take years to retrain the generation of physicians who’ve been encouraged to prescribe opioids freely. But as we were part of the problem, we must also be part of the solution.

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