Oregon health leader applauds new opioid guidelines that target big prescribers. (Hint: They’re not MDs.)

Blame for the over-prescribing of opioids has focused squarely on doctors. But for  patients between the ages of 10 to 19 years old, the leading prescribers of narcotic painkillers are not doctors, but dentists, by a big margin. Dentists prescribed nearly 31 percent of opioids, followed by primary care doctors, at 13 percent, and emergency physicians at 12 percent, according to a 2011 research letter in JAMA. The American Dental Association this week announced a new interim policy supporting prescription… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care News Headlines)
MedWorm: Dentistry News