Good News - the FDA has a New Overdose Prevention Framework

“Despite what appears to be a low risk of addiction in naïve, chronic pain patients, it is reasonable to ask how much harm is actually done to patients with chronic pain by withholding opiate analgesics.” - Howard L. Fields

I recently attended the Cape Cod Addiction Symposium in Massachusetts. One of the attendees - Prevent Opioid Abuse - sent an email this morning regarding this news: FDA’s New Overdose Prevention Framework Prioritizes Eliminating Unnecessary Initial Opioid Pain-Killer Prescriptions

As one who has lost friends to opioid overdoses, this is welcome news and long overdue. Since the 1990s doctors have used opioids as their "go-to" drugs for pain relief. My husband and I both had minor surgeries this summer -- Barry for his rotator cuff and I had elbow surgery for a pinched nerve. We asked the surgeon not to prescribe an opioid -- especially for this alcoholic! Needless to say, we both were given prescriptions despite our requests. We both ended up using Tylenol and were just fine. We threw out the opioid prescriptions.

Along with prevention by eliminating unnecessary prescription drug exposure, the other FDA priorities are:

• encouraging harm reduction

• advancing the development of evidence-based treatments for substance abuse disorders

• protecting the public from unapproved, diverted or counterfeit drugs that present overdose risks

Click here to view the entire framework: https://www.fda.gov/news-events/fda-voices/fdas-overdose-prevention-framework-aims-prevent-drug-overdoses-and-reduce-death