Most of you know something about the opioid crisis. It’s considered one of the most devastating public health catastrophes of our time.
Just to summarize briefly – the first wave of deaths began in the mid 1990s when Purdue Pharma’s newly approved pain drug OxyContin was pushed to doctors. Purdue had lied to the FDA, saying OxyContin was less addictive than other opioids. It was, actually, even more addictive. Then came the wave of deaths from many of those addicts switching to “street” heroin. And then, as we all know, came the synthetic opioid fentanyl. 2024 figures aren’t yet finalized but even though there has been a decline in deaths - the US continues to have the highest rate in the world.
With that as the background – I just had a very illuminating discussion with Dr. Arun Gupta. He started as an internist. But ultimately, he got so upset about the plight of his addicted patients in his mostly rural Michigan practice that he became a specialized addiction doctor. Then he wrote a book laying out the history of opioids and what needs to be done to help patients recover. This is a conversation I don’t think you want to miss.
Note: all episodes are also available in video form on YouTube
https://thepreventableepidemicbook.com/ (website is being updated)
https://www.samhsa.gov/substance-use/treatment/overdose-prevention/opioid-overdose-reversal (NARCAN etc.)
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