December - 20198In My OpinionThe opioid epidemic has recently gained a spotlight in the public eye and has resulted in political and healthcare policy changes. Its infamy lies in the fact that this epidemic is costing the United States, as a nation both economically and in lives lost. The societal and economic burden of chronic pain has been well documented affecting more than 100 million Americans, and with total direct and indirect costs ranging from $560 billion up to $635 billion per year. To put this in to perspective, in terms of the landscape of chronic conditions, chronic pain affects more Americans than diabetes (29 million), coronary heart disease including strokes (18.7 million), and cancer (14.5 million) combined. In addition to economic costs, opioids are the most common prescription drug implicated in overdose deaths, involved in up to 75 percent of overdoses, and estimated to be responsible for at least 17,000 deaths annually. What is astonishing is that, in 2014, more than 240 million prescriptions were written for prescription opioids, which are more than enough to give every American adult their own bottle of pills. Needless to say, the United States government has made the opioid epidemic one of their priorities to address in the healthcare sector.Joseph Tu, Medical Director Chronic Pain Program at Cedars-SinaiByTECHNOLOGY AND OPIOIDS Joseph Tu
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