Painkillers can be vital to the care and treatment of those suffering from many injuries or diseases. However, the number of adverse health events involving these drugs continues to increase each year. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that painkiller overdoses accounted for more fatalities in 2013 than gunshot wounds and car accidents combined.
The painkiller overdose lawyers at Ferrer Poirot Feller Daniel explain the federal government is hoping that a better infrastructure of prescription drug monitoring programs will reduce the number of drug injuries that involve painkillers each year.
Reports from The Post and Courier explain the American Medical Association (AMA) is calling for states to improve and build on prescription drug monitoring programs by ensuring they can effectively collect and share patient data. The AMA is also encouraging each state to ensure funding is available for these programs.
The hope is that these measures will help doctors examine the risks and benefits of prescribing painkillers to patients.
At Ferrer Poirot Feller Daniel, we are aware of how dangerous prescription painkillers can be, and our drug injury lawyers are hopeful these new policies can help reduce the number of injuries and fatalities associated with this type of medication.