WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — Deaths from opioid overdoses are at an all-time high in Kent County and while much of the focus has been on addicts, criminal drug dealers and the pharmaceutical industry – more attention is being paid to the role doctors and surgeons play.
A study done by doctors at University of Michigan Health system – an affiliate of Metro Health in Wyoming – published a study in the Journal of American Medical Association about their effort to reduce opioid use.
“Probably the most common complication of any procedure in the United States is taking an opioid naïve patient, someone who’s not on opioids, and leaving them as a now new chronic opioid user,” said Michael Englsebe, a U-M transplant surgeon who is a co-founder of a group of physicians who studied the issue.
“Once you’re kind of addicted to opioids, it’s really challenging for, obviously, families, patients and caregivers to manage – so our goal is to prevent that,” Englesbe said.
Englesbe said it is recognized that many illegal drug users start out as prescribed users.
Full Story: WOOD TV