Opioid Abuse Triggers CDC Guidelines
The CDC has reported that 46 people in the United States die each day as the result of overdosing on prescription painkillers. This unfortunate circumstance has led to the CDC recommendation to avoid prescribing long-term opioid painkillers in many situations.
Thomas Frieden, Director of the CDC, stated that "no other medication routinely used [...] kills patients so frequently." Many opiates prescribed are as addictive as heroine, and don't do a good job of controlling chronic pain.
Sergey Motov, MD, from Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York stated that "relying on opioids as the primary analgesics for moderate to severe pain is inadequate, unsafe, and costly." "We have nonopioid analgesics that we can use for managing certain conditions in the emergency department, and the time has come to explore their use."
The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine lists lidocaine patches as a method of pain management in the first paragraph of its page, Treatment options for chronic pain.
Sources
Foley, K. E. (2016, March 16). Doctors can do one simple thing to fight the opioid abuse epidemic. Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://qz.com/641030/doctors-can-do-one-simple-thing-to-fight-the-opioid-abuse-epidemic/
Nonopiod Treatments for Chronic Pain [PDF]. (2016, March 14). U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
Szabo, L. (2016, March 16). Doctors told to avoid prescribing opiates for chronic pain. Retrieved March 17, 2016, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/03/15/cdc-issues-new-guidelines-opiate-prescribing-reduce-abuse-overdoses/81809704/
Treatment options for chronic pain. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2016, from https://www.asra.com/page/46/treatment-options-for-chronic-pain