ABSTRACT
Drug overdose deaths and opioid-involved deaths continue to increase in the United States. The majority of drug overdose deaths involve an opioid. The commission of the Congress notes that the committee had to mandate educational initiatives at medical and dental schools to tighten opioid prescribing, and funding a program to expand access to medications used to treat addictions. The underassessment of pain may be related to the physician’s failure to assess pain often enough or correctly. The physician is to do the utmost to have a paper signed contract, mandatory urine for drug screens before prescribing further opioids, and patient referrals to a specialist if it gets out of hand. Physicians dedicate their lives to helping people; therefore, in the realm of chronic pain, there is always a fine line between treating the patient appropriately for their pain and overtreatment.
