By EMS1 Staff
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A group of surgeons are taking a new approach with their patients by prescribing fewer opioids to reduce their risk of addiction.
NPR reported that according to research, post-surgical patients are at higher risk of addiction due to the medicine they are prescribed to help with their recovery.
Surgeons and researchers at the University of Michigan found that speaking with patients about the proper use of opioids and prescribing fewer pills could greatly impact the current epidemic, according to a study published in ‘JAMA Surgery.’
“The way we’ve been prescribing opioids until this point is we’ve basically been taking a guess at how much patients would need,” University of Michigan general surgery resident Jay Lee said. “We’re trying to prevent addiction and misuse by making sure patients themselves who are receiving opioids know how to use them more safely — that they are getting a more consistent amount and one that will reduce the risk of them getting addicted.”
Researchers surveyed 170 patients within a year of gallbladder surgery to see how many pills they took, what kind of pain they went through due to the surgery and if they used other, non-opioid painkillers.
The survey helped create new guidelines to decrease opioid prescription for gallbladder surgeries, and studied other patients who were prescribed under the new guidelines.
The patients did not report higher levels of pain and were more likely to use fewer pills.
The study concluded that post-surgery patients are being over-prescribed, meaning doctors are able to reduce the amount of opioids given.
“This really shows in a very methodological way that we are dramatically over-prescribing,” Michael Botticelli, who led drug control policy under the Obama administration, said. “Not only do we have to reduce the supply to prevent future addiction, but we really have to minimize opportunities for diversion and misuse.”