A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that a total of 46 deaths are recorded each day due to painkiller overdoses.
The center also noticed that whenever the prescription for painkillers, specifically opioids, goes up, the death tolls also go up. It has already become an epidemic in the country.
In a lot of cases, the problem lies on the urgent care provided for the patients. There has to be a better hospital care to make sure that they will not heavily rely on these drugs.
The Other Highlights of the Report from the Center
Aside from the 46 death tolls each day, painkiller overdoses that lead to death extend to as much as 16,917 deaths since 2011. In 31 percent of these deaths, the patients were also using benzodiazepine. These are sedatives that are commonly used alongside with the opioids.
Urgent care clinics have also seen a total of 259 million prescriptions under this same drug. This was recorded in 2012 and the numbers were swinging starting that year. This number is already enough for the opioids to be in hands of every American.
The blame is commonly put on any non-profit urgent care clinic. They are commonly dubbed as pill mills. This is due to their habit to send large amount of drugs to people who do not really need it. The issue of overprescribing has always been a problem.
The South and the Highest Contributor to the Death Tolls
The deaths from the painkiller overdoses have not been very balanced. The report adds that the Southern part of the United States has been adding up the most to the number of prescriptions.
The states that topped the list are Alabama, West Virginia, and Tennessee. In Tennessee alone, there were as much as 22 more prescriptions per person than in any other state. The drug that was commonly used for this is the oxymoprhone. Urgent care near me will tell you that this is among the specialized classes in the painkiller department.
The other states in the country are not far-fetch in the tallies, as well. Midwest takes the second place having Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana on its top three. On the one hand, the Northeast portion of the country is responsible for getting the longer acting painkillers.
The numbers for the painkiller overdoses are alarming. Do you think the government should already intervene and regulate the market?
