Hospitals in Maryland have started trying to reduce the number of highly addictive opioid drugs that are prescribed.
The Baltimore Sun reported Friday that Anne Arundel Health System hopes to cut such prescriptions in half by 2019.
Anne Arundel joins hospitals across the region and state that are trying to fight against the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic.
Health systems officials recently conducted a review of opioid prescriptions among its doctors. It found wide disparities in how much was prescribed, even for the same health condition.
Doctors in some departments have started to deliberately look for alternatives for treating pain, prescribing opioids as a last resort.
Dr. Barry Meisenberg, chair for quality improvement and healthcare systems research, said its doctors “don’t want to create a new generation of addicts.”
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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com
