HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Medical Society is launching an education effort to help physicians and patients find treatment alternatives to highly addictive painkillers.
The doctors’ group on Tuesday recommended steps that physicians should take and posted prescribing guidelines and other materials online.
The steps include helping get treatment for patients who have a substance use disorder. Dr. David Talenti of the medical society says 80 percent of heroin addicts started out on an opioid prescription.
IMS Health data shows that nearly 10.4 million prescriptions for opioid medications were filled by patients in 2015. That’s down from 11.3 million in 2013, and Talenti says physicians have significantly improved their awareness of the problem in the past three years.
The Wolf administration says heroin and opioid overdoses are Pennsylvania’s leading cause of accidental deaths.
