Doctors' Survey Sheds Light on Opioid Prescriptions

Ninety-nine percent of doctors who participated in a recent survey are prescribing opioid medication for longer than the three-day period recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, and 23% of doctors said they prescribe at least a month's worth of opioids. The National Safety Council survey also found that 99% of doctors have seen a pill-seeking patient or evidence of opioid abuse, but only 38% usually refer those patients to treatment. Only 5% of doctors surveyed will treat patients for opioid abuse themselves. The survey included 201 board-certified family medicine or interna...