Gary Franklin, MD, medical director for the Department of Labor and Industries, and Jeff Thompson, MD, medical director for the Health Care Authority, wrote in a Seattle Times editorial that although the methadone deaths are increasing in Washington State, the overall opioid deaths are decreasing.
The authors said a recent Seattle Times article attributed much of the rise in methadone deaths to the Medicaid program. However, overall opioid deaths decreased from 300 in 2008 to 258 in 2012 in the Medicaid program, and overdose deaths among all state residents decreased from 512 to 420 in the same period.
"We believe this drop to be because of the multiple efforts of state agencies and our work with the community," the authors wrote. "We were the first state to describe in a scientific publication the dramatically increasing doses and tragic deaths. That led to the creation of our Opioid Dosing Guidelines, the first attempt in the U.S. to reduce the high doses associated with unintentional overdose."
Related Articles on Opioid Abuse:
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The authors said a recent Seattle Times article attributed much of the rise in methadone deaths to the Medicaid program. However, overall opioid deaths decreased from 300 in 2008 to 258 in 2012 in the Medicaid program, and overdose deaths among all state residents decreased from 512 to 420 in the same period.
"We believe this drop to be because of the multiple efforts of state agencies and our work with the community," the authors wrote. "We were the first state to describe in a scientific publication the dramatically increasing doses and tragic deaths. That led to the creation of our Opioid Dosing Guidelines, the first attempt in the U.S. to reduce the high doses associated with unintentional overdose."
Related Articles on Opioid Abuse:
Omega Laboratories First to Receive FDA Clearance for Extended Opiates Test
Opioids Involved in More Than 40% of Drug Poisoning Deaths in 2008
Dr. Jack D'Angelo: Patient Safety is Key When Preventing Opioid Abuse