The opioid epidemic has become a public health crisis in the U.S. While primary care physicians have been writing fewer opioid prescriptions over the last several years, new opioid prescriptions by surgeons increased 18 percent from 2010-2016. However, many surgeons are now diligently working to change their prescribing practices. One approach has been to try reducing excessive opioid prescriptions by exploring pain management strategies that include fewer or no opioids at all for surgical patients.
* This article was originally published here
