A study out of Canada shows that many doctors are now prescribing less potent doses of opioid pain relievers for post-surgery pain. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, advocates say doctors should also recommend nonopioid pain relief options as an effective alternative. And in some cases, doctors should move away from prescribing opioids entirely.

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The foremost commitment of any medical practitioner is to do no harm, and the vast majority of physicians hold to that. But what happens when the very drugs doctors prescribe are harmful?

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One of my colleagues is a veteran nurse who works in a hospital in Baton Rouge. He was born and raised in a sparsely populated, underserved area of Louisiana which is now being devastated by the opioid epidemic...

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A recent article in U.S. News reported on a new study published in The Journal of Urology. The data suggests that taking opiate-based painkillers after a vasectomy does not improve pain control. Furthermore, taking such drugs after a vasectomy is also linked to the persistent use of such medicines in the months following surgery…

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Opioid addiction is the most discussed, most concerning, and most lethal drug addiction problem in the United States today. News of opioid dependence hits media headlines weekly. It is a national public health emergency that threatens the very viability of our country.

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It seems like a small thing, just letters from a county coroner to 388 California medical doctors, telling them that one of their patients died from a prescription drug overdose. But this simple step subsequently reduced the number of opioid prescriptions handed out by these doctors. Overcoming our opioid epidemic is going to take many of these small steps.

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