Veterans with PTSD More Likely to Be Prescribed Pain Killers Posted by Mark Abramson on March 08, 2012
The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Journal of the American Medical Association have published a new study that reveals that recent war veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to be prescribed pain killing opioids than other veterans. The veterans diagnosed with PTSD and given these pain killers are also more likely to experience adverse outcomes related to violent behavior, addiction, drug abuse, and accidental deaths.
According to the New York Times, “The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense have for years been trying to reduce the use of opioid pain therapy among active duty troops and veterans amid reports of overmedication, addiction, rampant drug abuse and accidental deaths caused by overdoses or toxic mixing of medications.
But the study raises new concerns that primary care doctors — the main prescribers of opioids to veterans — are not always following government guidelines intended to restrict opioid pain therapy for veterans with PTSD and other mental health diagnoses.”
1-800-662-6230 or abramson@arbd.com
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