The vast majority of medical professionals — including practicing internists, family physicians and general practitioners — believe prescription drug abuse is a significant problem in their community, and most physicians agreed opioids were overused to treat pain, according to a research letter published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.
The survey was conducted by Catherine S. Hwang, MSPH, and co-authors of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore among 420 physicians. Survey results showed that 90 percent of respondents reported prescription drug abuse to be a big or moderate problem in their community, and 85 percent reported opioids are overused in clinical practice. Furthermore, 45 percent of physicians reported being less likely to prescribe opioids compared with a year ago.
"Our investigation suggests that most primary care physicians are aware of many risks of opioids and many have decreased their prescribing of these products during the past 12 months," the research letter concludes.