Prescribers and the public have been misinformed about the risk of addiction when chronic pain is treated with opioids. This has led to overprescribing of opioids and the worst drug epidemic in U.S. history.
Addiction is NOT Rare in Pain Patients
Effectiveness of Opioids for Chronic Pain
Despite low-quality evidence supporting practice change, use of opioids for chronic pain increased dramatically over the past two decades. Concurrently, there has been a sharp increase in opioid analgesic overdose deaths, addiction, misuse and diversion.
The Effectiveness and Risks of Long-Term Opioid Therapy for Chronic Pain
Increases in prescriptions of opioid medications for chronic pain have been accompanied by increases in opioid overdoses, abuse, and other harms and uncertainty about longterm effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate evidence on the effectiveness and harms of […]
Opioid Painkiller Prescribing – Where You Live Makes a Difference
CDC Vitalsigns: Health issues that cause people pain don’t vary much from place to place—not enough to explain why, in 2012, health care providers in the highest-prescribing state wrote almost 3 times as many opioid painkiller prescriptions per person as […]
Medicines to Relieve Chronic Pain
When you need opioids and when you don’t. Consumer Reports Health: Opioids (narcotics) are common pain medicines. They can help if you have bad short-term pain—like pain after surgery for a broken bone. They can also help you manage pain […]
Cautious, Evidence-based Opioid Prescribing Guide
Despite low-quality evidence supporting practice change, use of chronic opioid therapy (COT) for chronic non-cancer pain increased dramatically over the past two decades. Concurrently, opioid analgesic overdose deaths, addiction, misuse and diversion have increased markedly. PROP Opioid Prescribing Guide
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