“An estimated 5 to 8 million Americans use opioids for long-term management of chronic pain.” A recent study in the American Journal of Psychiatry looked at over 13,000 Medicaid patients who had died from an opioid overdose between the years 2001 and 2007. The study found that 61% of the patients reviewed had been diagnosed with a chronic pain condition within their last year of life. Diagnosis of mental health conditions was also observed.
The misuse and overuse of opioids have been connected with patients first having a prescription for an opioid for pain, however follow up counseling and treatment is often not obtained so as to prevent and treat a subsequently developed substance abuse problem. Further understanding of better ways to manage chronic pain is needed.