Major initiative established to prevent opioid abuse and overdose
Thursday, August 4, 2011 - 08:30
in Health & Medicine
Fatal overdoses involving prescribed opioids tripled in the United States between 1999 and 2006, climbing to almost 14,000 deaths annually -- more than cocaine and heroin overdoses combined. Now a new report describes a major initiative to make opioid prescribing safer while improving care for patients with chronic pain.