A National Safety Council study of 201 board-certified family medicine or internal medicine physicians concluded that nearly 100% of all physicians are prescribing addictive opioid medicines longer than the Center of Disease control recommends. The CDC recommends only prescribing them for three days, and 23% of all respondents surveyed indicated that they prescribed opioid medicine for a month, according to the press release from the National Survey Council and this article.
Do opioids provide effective pain relief?
74% of all physicians surveyed believed that opioids were the most effective pain relief drugs, though research has shown that over-the-counter drugs like acetaminophen and ibuprofen actually provide the most relief from even acute pain.
“Opioids do not kill pain; they kill people,” wrote Don Teater, MD, the medical adviser for the National Safety Council’s prescription overdoes initiatives.
Educating doctors
The press release included information about educating doctors about the dangers of opioids and recommendations that doctors should only provide prescriptions for opioids as a last resort, and even then only issue prescriptions for three days to a maximum of a week. A month long prescription for opioids isn’t only unnecessary, it’s dangerous because it can lead to addiction.
Dangers of opioids
Opioid addiction is one of the most serious health crises that’s been continually becoming more widespread during the past few years. Educating doctors about the dangers of opioid prescriptions may be a key step in preventing opioid addiction.
Nurses often see the devastating aftereffects of opioid addiction
If you’re a nurse in the American healthcare system, unfortunately it’s more than likely that you’ve had to deal with many patients who were suffering from opioid addictions. You may have seen patients die as a result of overdoses as well. It’s a truly devastating epidemic in America right now.
Improving healthcare outcomes throughout the US
Do something about it by applying to join the team of certified nurses at Chart Review Nurses. Our nurses study hundreds of medical data points in the hopes of achieving better patient outcomes in healthcare facilities throughout the US. It’s more than likely that many lives have been saved as a result of the work of Chart Review Nurses because healthcare facilities compare their performances with similar facilities. In that way, they are able to identify which areas they should work to improve.
Join Chart Review Nurses today
Apply to join Chart Review Nurses today. If you’re a qualified nurse who’s comfortable working with a computer from home, Chart Review Nurses will probably be a great fit for you. You’ll be able to pick your own specialties and enjoy a flexible work schedule. Send your resume to Chart Review Nurses at info@datafied.com, and feel free to give us a call at (877) 328-2343 if you have any questions.
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