Addictions to opioids have soared since the 1990's. It's now estimated that as many as 36 million people worldwide abuse opiods. The medical community not only assumes the heavy responsibility of confronting this epidemic in clinical practice, but also shoulders a significant amount of blame from the general public for overprescribing opioid medications. Where should clinicians on the front lines of care start to address both the clinical priorities and the encumbent social responsibilities of opioid abuse?
Dr. Anita Gupta, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of the Division of Pain Medicine in the Department of Anesthesiology at Drexel University School of Medicine, joins Dr. Jennifer Caudle to discuss the call to action for safer pain management in this era of prescription drug abuse.
