Patients who don't qualify for high-potency opioids are still being prescribed these drugs

Highly potent opioids are meant only for those patients who have shown that they can tolerate smaller doses of other opioids, but new research reveals those who don't meet these criteria are still being prescribed the painkillers. Scientists retrospectively looked at electronic health record data from more than 131,00 U.S. adults, and found that fewer than half of the instances in which high-potency opioids were prescribed were for patients who had previously been prescribed a short dose of oxycodone and therefore considered opioid tolerant. Around 30% of these cases involved the use of fentanyl patches, which can be highly addictive. Among patients whose EHR data was linked to claims data, researchers found that only 1% of opioid prescriptions met the appropriate prescription criteria. More research is needed to understand why doctors continue to prescribe potent opioids to patients who don't meet the eligibility guidelines, the authors write. 

Correction: In yesterday's item on fetal deaths in the U.S., I incorrectly labeled deaths that happen after 20 weeks after gestation. These are stillbirths. Thanks to the readers who wrote in to point this out.