Over 2 million Americans abuse or are dependent on prescription pain medications. These patients are in the office of every physician in the country, but only 3 percent of primary care providers offer them treatment.
Many patients are being given a sympathetic apology, a hotline to call, or a dead-end referral. Some of them are being sent to methadone clinics, which are often impractical, already-full, or deeply stigmatized. Others make their way to addiction specialists with long waiting lists, high fees, or other obstacles. Most, however, never get the chance to discuss their potentially life-threatening condition with their doctor at all. And this is an enormous missed opportunity.
There has been important attention lately from both the CDC and FDA about safer prescribing of opioids, acknowledging our role in preventing addiction. But what are we going to do about the millions of individuals already living with opioid use disorder? Do we not have an equal responsibility to treat this condition as we do in preventing it?
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