Health leaders blame addiction for US opioid crisis

Alternative pain treatment options, reducing overprescribing, and destigmatizing misuse were among the potential solutions to the US opioid epidemic cited by healthcare leaders in a panel discussion sponsored by the National Academy of Medicine on 16 October as part of its annual meeting. Other points included best practice guidelines to rein in the initial overprescribing of pain treatments; not vindictively cutting off social services for people who misuse drugs and seek treatment; stopping unnecessary deaths with wider availability of naloxone to counter opioid overdose; and more research to improve treatment of chronic pain. A video of the panel discussion will be available as part of the coverage of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's annual meeting at www.nas.edu . 1 Dyer O. FDA pulls opioid from market over misuse concerns.