AMA president urges physician action to prevent opioid overdoses, deaths
In an open letter on the opioid epidemic published yesterday in the Huffington Post Blog, American Medical Association CEO Steven Stack, M.D., called on American physicians to avoid initiating opioids for new patients with chronic non-cancer pain unless the benefits are expected to outweigh the risks. Among other actions, the practicing emergency physician also urged them to limit the amount of opioids prescribed for post-operative care and acutely-injured patients; register for and use their state Prescription Drug Monitoring Program; identify and help patients with opioid use disorder obtain evidence-based treatment; and co-prescribe naloxone to patients at risk for overdose.
Related News Articles
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has approved a Section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver allowing West Virginia to expand its benefits…
Headline
More than 880,000 physicians were certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 2017, about 20,000 more than in 2016, according to the board’…
Headline
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has identified the first clinicians eligible to participate in 2018 advanced alternative payment models, based…
Headline
The National Collaborative for Improving the Clinical Learning Environment this week released guidance to help health care system leaders work with clinical…
Headline
Eliminating the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease exclusion for adults under age 65 would help improve access to treatment for those with severe or…
Headline
In a letter this week, the AHA again urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to take specific actions to address and prevent the serious…