Michael Von Korff, ScD of Group Health Research Institute in Seattle has noticed that doctors have become more conservative when prescribing opioids as a result of studies showing that abuse of opioids have become quite severe. Opioid perscriptions have 600% from 1997 to 2007 (USA statistic). At the same time unintentional lethal overdoses involving prescription opioids increased more than 350% from approximately 4000 in 1999 to more than 14,000 in 2007(Depressive Symptoms Raise Risk for Opioid Misuse, 2013).
It has been suggested that opioids are not appropriate therapy for chronic noncancer pain for most patients in primary care settings because of the harm they cause and that safer, alternative treatments for chronic pain should be used, including physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, low-dose tricyclic medications, and treatment of co-occurring psychiatric illnesses(Depressive Symptoms Raise Risk for Opioid Misuse, 2013).
Roger A. Rosenblatt, MD, MPH, and Mary Catlin, BSN, MPH, both from University of Washington, Seattle, suggest that when other interventions are inadequate, low-dose opioids therapy with other complementary therapies may be considered. They also mention that long-term opioid therapy requires a long-term commitment by both clinician and patient and they should always be cautious to this powerful drug (Depressive Symptoms Raise Risk for Opioid Misuse, 2013).
Michael Von Korff, ScD of Group Health Research Institute in Seattle has noticed that doctors have become more conservative when prescribing opioids as a result of studies showing that abuse of opioids have become quite severe. Opioid perscriptions have 600% from 1997 to 2007 (USA statistic). At the same time unintentional lethal overdoses involving prescription opioids increased more than 350% from approximately 4000 in 1999 to more than 14,000 in 2007(Depressive Symptoms Raise Risk for Opioid Misuse, 2013).
It has been suggested that opioids are not appropriate therapy for chronic noncancer pain for most patients in primary care settings because of the harm they cause and that safer, alternative treatments for chronic pain should be used, including physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, low-dose tricyclic medications, and treatment of co-occurring psychiatric illnesses(Depressive Symptoms Raise Risk for Opioid Misuse, 2013).
Roger A. Rosenblatt, MD, MPH, and Mary Catlin, BSN, MPH, both from University of Washington, Seattle, suggest that when other interventions are inadequate, low-dose opioids therapy with other complementary therapies may be considered. They also mention that long-term opioid therapy requires a long-term commitment by both clinician and patient and they should always be cautious to this powerful drug (Depressive Symptoms Raise Risk for Opioid Misuse, 2013).
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