Spike in opioid scripts ‘driving up deaths’
Australia has no co-ordinated national approach to overdose prevention despite 'enthusiastic' prescribing, addiction medicine specialists say
The number of patients being prescribed opioids has risen 11-fold in the past two decades, but high-dose scripts have dwindled, a study shows.
However, despite the decline in potency, specialists warn the volume of people taking the drugs is “driving an increase in opioid-related deaths”.
