“As the number of opioid prescriptions written by doctors is decreasing, the amount of medications handed out to treat pain killer addictions is on the rise, according to new research.
The report conducted by the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science — which studies prescription drug use – found that prescriptions for opioid pain pills have been decreasing since 2011, with a sudden drop in 2017 of 12%. It was the steepest drop-off in drug prescriptions for the entire year.
The report also found that as the number of opioid prescriptions lessens, the number of drugs prescribed to combat opioid addictions, like buprenorphine and naltrexone, nearly doubled during 2017 from 42,000 per month to 82,000.”
Read more at: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/opioid-prescriptions-decline-addiction-therapy-drugs-double-article-1.3943945
Source: NYDailyNews.com – April 19, 2018