In the last week, there has been a tremendous amount of yucky news about overdoses. Just this weekend, we heard the tragic report about the death of precious Cory Monteith, who played the beloved Finn on the show Glee (one of my absolute favorite programs!).
Additionally, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported on the growing epidemic of overdoses, especially among women.
Check out these chilling statistics:
- Nearly 48,000 women died of prescription painkiller* overdoses between 1999 and 2010.
- Deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses among women have increased more than 400% since 1999, compared to 265% among men.
- For every woman who dies of a prescription painkiller overdose, 30 go to the emergency department for painkiller misuse or abuse.
- About 18 women die every day of a prescription painkiller overdose in the US, more than 6,600 deaths in 2010.
The CDC reports that this rise relates closely to increased prescribing of these drugs during the past decade. Prescription painkillers refer to opiate or narcotic pain medications such as Vicodin, Oxycotin, Codeine or Methadone. Michelle Leonhart, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has been quoted as saying, “prescription drug abuse is our country’s fastest growing drug problem.” GULP.
The Silver Lining is that there ARE things that can be done to stop this unnecessary overdosing and to save lives. For example, the CDC says that health care providers can help improve the way painkillers are prescribed while making sure women have access to safe, effective pain treatment.
When prescribing painkillers, the CDC recommends that health care providers can:
- Recognize that women are at risk of prescription painkiller overdose.
- Follow guidelines for responsible prescribing, including screening and monitoring for substance abuse and mental health problems.
- Use prescription drug monitoring programs to identify patients who may be improperly obtaining or using prescription painkillers and other drugs.
You all know that I’m a HUGE advocate for palliative care, right? Palliative care, as you will recall, is the specialty in medicine that focuses on pain and symptom management which, as you might imagine deals a lot with narcotic and opiate prescription.
In light of this rising epidemic of painkiller over-prescription leading to, in some cases abuse and even overdoses, another suggestion that I would proffer is the engagement of palliative care services when a patient is facing any and every potential pain issue. I believe that this issue can be prevented. After all, wouldn’t it be better to prevent abuse and/or overdose rather than react to it?
Based on my personal experience with palliative care, I know firsthand that pain relief is not just about prescribing drugs. My palliative care physician prescribed restorative yoga, meditation and acupuncture to contend with my pain issues.
This is an important, seminal report from the CDC; however, I want to (over!)emphasize the importance of and need for pain management to facilitate healing, especially after surgery. Pain management, and yes even limited-use prescription medication, is what helps the body heal. The key – as is the case with everything in life – is moderation.