Slowing the Opioid Epidemic by Controlling a Source: Disabling the Pump

With a record 63 632 drug overdose deaths in 2016, Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Eric Hargan declared a nationwide public health emergency.¹ Prescribed opioids play an important role in fueling this devastating epidemic. Between 1991 and 2011, opioid prescriptions nearly tripled to 219 million, with a parallel rise in opioid-related deaths. In 2017, 17.4% of the US population received 1 or more opioid prescriptions; of them, the average person received 3.4.¹ Despite such extensive prescribing, most physicians have historically received little training either in pain management or in assessing or managing substance use disorders.