Reflections on Medicine & Life
Stigma about proven OUD (Opioid Use Disorder) treatments is a significant barrier to getting the opioid crisis under control. Stigma prevents patients from seeking treatment with Suboxone and methadone. And stigma prevents addiction care providers from using Suboxone, methadone, and
We lost more than 33,000 Americans to opioid overdoses in 2015. Over 50,000 succumbed to all overdoses. That’s more than were murdered, killed themselves or died in car accidents that year. Yet, we can’t make up our mind. To what
A physician traces the evolution of the opioid epidemic while coming face-to-face with the practical reality of America’s swing away from opioid prescribing. Making pain the 5th vital sign directly led to our irrational opioids prescribing. Now, we are prone to the same lack of nuance and clinical judgment in the opposite direction.