Preventing opioid addiction means more access to pain treatment options
Arizona hospitals and healthcare professionals shifted their focus in recent months to responding to the COVID-19 crisis. But early indications now suggest the pandemic may be helping to fuel our... […]
We need sweeping action to curb opioid crisis
I never set out to become an addict. Like so many people, my path of addiction began with a legal prescription for pain medication after I injured my knee. Every year, an estimated 3 million patients are prescribed post-surgical opioids and become dependent. More than 80% of heroin users trace their addiction to a legal prescription, including me.
Support legislation to incentivize non-opioids pain therapies
Opioids cost 1,375 Arizonans their lives in 2018 alone. This is a public health epidemic, and we need to leverage every available public-health policy tool to reduce opioid addiction. Fortunately, research into safer pain relievers is paying off and FDA-approved, opioid-free alternatives are now available. This means patients can recover from medical procedures in comfort while taking fewer, if an[...]