August 26, 2016Tyler Collins
Every doctor in the United States will soon be receiving the letter included below from the US surgeon general.
Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Vivek Murthy has a particularly important and historically unparalleled reason for sending the letter. Tens of thousands of Americans are dying every year from overdoses of prescription painkillers such as Percocet, Oxycontin, and Vicodin, among many others.
Surgeon General Appeals for Help in Tackling America’s Opioid Epidemic
He begins the letter with , “I am asking for your help to solve an urgent health crisis facing America: the opioid epidemic.”
In his letter The Surgeon General tells physicians he understands their desire to keep their patients out of pain.
“It is important to recognize that we arrived at this place on a path paved with good intentions,” he wrote.
But it’s now clear that those good intentions have gone horribly wrong.
Earlier this year, in fact, the Center for Disease Control issued an unusual CDC report providing guidelines for opioid prescriptions.
And just recently the Obama Administration took more action to address the Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic.
The Surgeon General was on CBS This Morning and talked about the crisis and the letter.
Right now 78 people are dying every day from opioid overdose. Hopefully these continued efforts will help to alleviate the terrible crisis that America is facing.
