Opioid prescriptions remain high in Ohio even as overdose deaths increase



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Steve Birr | Vice Reporter













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A new report shows the Chronic pain patients living in Ohio still receive high doses of opioid badgesics, even though overdose deaths are reaching record highs.

US Department of Health and Social Services authorities release data Tuesday as Vicodin and Oxycodone are still prescribed at a high rate throughout the state to Medicaid recipients. Between June 2016 and May 2017, approximately 5,000 Medicaid patients, excluding those receiving addiction treatment or palliative care, received opioid scripts at doses that put them at risk, reports the report. Dayton Daily News. ignore the prescription guidelines of state regulators and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report comes at a time when Ohio is experiencing the second-highest drug overdose mortality rate in the country, surpbading only West Virginia. (CONNECTION: Study: States Could Underestimate Opioid Deaths Up To 70,000)

"Of those who receive large amounts, more than 700 are at serious risk Overdose or overdose of prescription opioids said in the report, according to the Dayton Daily News. "Some received extreme amounts of opioids, while others seemed to be doing shopping at the doctor. Our findings suggest that some prescribers and pharmacies do not adhere to Ohio 's opioid prescribing policies, potentially putting Medicaid beneficiaries at risk.

Ohio lost 4,329 residents for overdoses in 2016 – an increase of 24% over the 2015 opioid epidemic spreading death across the country. Nearly 40 out of every 100,000 people are dying from drug overdoses in Ohio.

The number of deaths from opioids would be much higher without the presence of naloxone, an overdose drug, according to the authorities. Ohio's first responders administered approximately 43,000 doses of naloxone in 2016.

Nationwide, overdoses are the leading cause of accidental death in Americans under the age of 50, killing More than 64,000 people in 2016.

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Tags: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Department of Health and Social Services













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