Overdose Deaths Persist Despite Physician Efforts to Reduce Opioid Prescribing, per AMA Report
By Amy Lynn Sorrel

Oct_20_TM_PublicHealth

Even as deaths from illicit drugs like fentanyl are rising, a new American Medical Association report shows a 45% decrease in opioid prescribing over the past decade in Texas. 

Illicitly manufactured fentanyl is found in 75% of counterfeit pills and other substances, according to AMA.

“The ‘opioid crisis’ is no longer just about prescription opioids,” said C.M. Schade, MD, former president of the Texas Pain Society (TPS). He will testify today on behalf of the Texas Medical Association and TPS before the House Public Health Committee, which is set to discuss the topic this week. 

The AMA report shows that physicians and health care professionals in every state have decreased opioid prescriptions dispensed from retail pharmacies between 2012 and 2021, accompanied by large decreases in dosage strength, measured in morphine milligram equivalents. Physicians also have increased their use of state prescription monitoring programs.

Despite these efforts, the study revealed spikes in overdoses and deaths related to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

“What is becoming painfully evident is that there are limits to what physicians can do," said Bobby Mukkamala, MD, chair of the AMA Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force. "Illicitly manufactured fentanyl is supercharging this epidemic. We need help from leaders across sectors to combat this public health crisis." 

TMA and TPS will send state lawmakers a similar message this week during the house hearings with recommendations that include: 

  • Funding physicians’ use of the Texas prescription monitoring program;
  • Revising state rules that deter physicians from prescribing necessary pain medications;
  • Making the overdose-reversing drug naloxone more available; and
  • Educating the public about counterfeit drugs.
Read TMT for future coverage of the hearing.

Last Updated On

September 12, 2022

Originally Published On

September 12, 2022

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Amy Lynn Sorrel

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Amy Sorrel

Amy Lynn Sorrel has covered health care policy for nearly 20 years. She got her start in Chicago after earning her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and went on to cover health care as an award-winning writer for the American Medical Association, and as an associate editor and managing editor at TMA. Amy is also passionate about health in general as a cancer survivor, avid athlete, traveler, and cook. She grew up in California and now lives in Austin with her Aggie husband and daughter.

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