New Guidelines Limit Prescriptions, Dosages to Slow Down Opioid Epidemic

Four Massachusetts residents will die today from opioid-related overdoses, the state Department of Public Health says. New guidelines that went into effect Friday — and a new state law passed this spring to limit initial opioid prescriptions to seven days — are aimed at curbing the epidemic. The new guidelines, released by the state Department of Industrial Accidents, reiterate the seven-day limit for first-time prescriptions but also advocate providers giving the lowest possible doses, discourage long-acting or extended-release analgesics and warn against mixing opioids...