Urgent Health Crisis Sweeping Our Nation
Opioid use and misuse is at an all-time high resulting in a record number of overdose deaths in America. From 1999 to 2014 more than 165,000 people died from overdoses related to prescription opioids alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid prescribing is fueling the epidemic. In 2012, a staggering 259 million prescriptions were written for painkillers, enough for every adult in America to have a bottle of pills. These numbers are so concerning that the United States Surgeon General has sounded the alarm by sending a letter this month to every physician in the United States requesting their help in stemming the tide of opioid misuse. America’s top doctor is urging his colleagues to educate themselves on how to treat pain safely, to screen patients for an opioid disorder and most importantly, shape how the country looks at substance use disorders by talking about them and treating them as a chronic illness, not a moral failing. The opioid epide