New polling data from The Boston Globe reveals that U.S. physicians are prescribing fewer opioids. But how does the trend impact patients – and the nation’s opioid addiction epidemic?

The Boston Globe Data

The Globe’s December SERMO poll of nearly 3,000 physicians reveals that:

  • More than half of all physician respondents reduced their opioid prescribing over the past two years
  • More than two-thirds of internal medicine and family practice physicians reduced their opioid prescribing over the past two years
  • Thirty-four percent cited “too many hassles and risks” as their rationale for reducing prescriptions
  • Twenty-nine percent credited an “improved understanding of opioids’ risks”
  • More than one-third of physicians agreed that reducing opioid prescriptions may actually hurt patients.

More at Institute for Patient Access

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