chevss454
Data-driven decision-making is science and art.
I know it’s a very long article for those who read it. This stood out to me.
I am NOT saying Drs are the SUPPLIERS. They are where MOST get their first taste of the world of pharmaceuticals. All too often people with next to zero incidence of drugs in their life get a script for injury or pain and these things are so powerful and so addictive it changes lives.
They’re too willing to prescribe. And they know the problem out there. So you have to ask why.
Both myself and mikie cited multiple instances in our own health history where these things were virtually pushed. Cmon, wisdom tooth recovery? A 3 stitch umbilical hernia? Where I played competitive ice hockey 7 days later? I really need to be offered Oxy? Then Vicodin?
This is where we differ then. Street drugs are the major cause of substance abusers. It's a combination of availability and peer pressure. Kids too young to know better, especially those with ADD, ADHD or anxiety, are given drugs by friends and say to themselves "It won't happen to me". Only it helps their behavioral problem immediately so they take another and another & before they realize it, they're hooked. Doctors aren't getting these Jr. High Schoolers and High Schoolers addicted. Their friends are doing it.
Prescriptions of narcotics to control post-op pain is the standard of care for adults. Adults have the right to refuse to take them. Even so, the ethical doctor doesn't write a script for enough drug to get people hooked.