It’s hard to turn on the news and not hear about the negative impact the opioid epidemic is having on our country. In fact, the CDC estimates that 115 Americans die every day after overdosing on opioids.
With that in mind, Choices Matter partnered with the QuintilesIMS Institute* to compile the most current analysis of national trends in opioid prescribing for The United States for Non-Dependence (USND) report. The new research found that nearly 3 million individuals who had surgery in 2016 became persistent opioid users, continuing to take opioids 3-6 months after their procedure. Further, because of overprescribing, 3.3 billion pills were left unused by patients, making them available for potential diversion or misuse.
“We know that the majority of opioid addictions start with prescription medications, so it is critical to fight the opioid epidemic by minimizing exposure to these drugs, especially to vulnerable patient populations,” said Paul Sethi, M.D., orthopaedic surgeon at Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists (ONS), President of the ONS Foundation for Clinical Research and Education and Choices Matter spokesperson. “Combatting this problem requires multipronged approach — clinicians need to be more vigilant with their prescribing, patients should feel empowered to speak candidly with their doctor and take ownership of their postsurgical pain management experience and effective non-opioid medications should be routinely incorporated into postsurgical analgesic regimens.”
To encourage patients and caregivers to discuss non-opioid options with their doctors, NBA All-Star Grant Hill — who had undergone 11 procedures throughout his career — signed on as a spokesperson. Hill had tremendous success with a long-acting local anesthetic to manage his pain after two recent knee surgeries, and was passionate about sharing his experience to empower others. Armed with the data from the USND report, Choices Matter spokespeople educated millions of Americans across the country about the impact of opioid overprescribing and the importance of speaking to your doctor prior to surgery about pain management options, including non-opioids.
If you or a loved one needs surgery, join the hundreds of people who have taken a stand against opioid overprescribing and pledged to talk to their doctors about non-opioid options. With your support, we can help turn the tide of this societal epidemic.
*Effective November 2017, QuintilesIMS is called IQVIA