The number of opioid abuse cases in Massachusetts is growing. According to data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, between January and July of 2015, an estimated 869 people died from opioid overdoses. That marks a 24 percent increase from the last seven months of 2014. To combat this upward trend, a handful of insurance companies like Neighborhood Health Plan and CeltiCare have created programs to connect their members with social workers. The initiative is a preventative measure to keep members with a history of opioid abuse, or those who might be vulnerable to addiction, from overdosing.
Back in November, when the outlook on the opioid crisis was just as bleak, Pacific Standard published Daniel J. McGraw's own account of being prescribed a hefty dosage of OxyContin after having a gall bladder operation. McGraw wasn't expecting the script, especially considering his doctors agreed that pain pills wouldn't be necessary for his recovery. McGraw, who'd once had a stint in a rehabilitation center for alcoholism, was anxious about taking OxyContin. "Americans are addicted to pain meds—legal and illegal," McGraw wrote, "because the United States' medical community had re-defined who needed these meds and who didn't."
[For more of this story, written by Julie Morse, go to http://www.psmag.com/health-an...curb-opioid-epidemic]
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