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In this report from the CDC, a review of several national databases showed that the death rate from overdose of prescription opioid pain relievers quadrupled from 1999 to 2008. Death rates were highest among non-Hispanic whites and among people aged 35 to 54. Fatality rates paralleled opioid sales rates.
The authors note that in one California study, 3% of physicians accounted for 62% of opioid prescriptions. They suggest that state-based prescription drug monitoring programs and insurance claims information be used to identify inappropriate prescribing behavior by physicians and misuse by patients. In addition, they propose that healthcare providers should use only opioid pain relievers when nonopioid medications do not adequately manage pa…