There is another reason why people are dying from opioids (“Our View: Overdose deaths driven by dangerous supply,” July 17, Page D2). It is well known that many unsuspecting patients have become hooked because they were prescribed these powerful painkillers by their doctors or hospitals. Not only prescribed, but also overprescribed.
After a recent small surgical biopsy at a respected Maine hospital (Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston), I was sent home with a prescription for 55 opioid pills! There was no discussion about this drug or pain evaluation before discharge. I took two Excedrin that night and was done with any discomfort.
This kind of overprescribing became common after pharmaceutical companies pervasively and persuasively marketed these meds as the latest and most effective painkillers. Physicians and institutions responded and prescribed them by the millions.
The Editorial Board states, “As the deaths mount with no relief in sight, we can’t reject ideas that could save lives.” How about this idea? Hospitals and doctors must stop the overprescribing of these potent drugs, which can lead to devastating addiction and death.
Marilyn Heise
East Boothbay
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