Prescriptions for painkillers have reached completely outsized
proportions in the nation and in Missouri. According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “enough prescription
painkillers were prescribed in 2010 to medicate every American
adult around-the-clock for a month.” As every anesthesiologist
knows, these drugs are potent respiratory depressants, so
overdoses – intentional or not – can and do lead to death. These
deaths have more than quadrupled in Missouri during the past 10
years. The latest figures from the Missouri Department of Health
& Senior Services show nearly 900 deaths annually, compared to
the low 200's of a decade ago. From a public health standpoint,
a 50 percent reduction in these deaths would save 450 lives,
nearly six times more than are estimated to be saved by primary
enforcement of seat belt laws. Missouri’s rural counties have
nearly twice the overdose rate of their urban counterparts.
While the Missouri Society of Anesthesiologists believes
painkillers are indispensab