Patients Prescribed Narcotic Medications Are Staying On Them Longer, Study Says

Health officials across the country are working to lower painkiller and opioid abuse. However, a new study shows that more people are taking these addictive medications for a longer amount of time.

Statistics show that patients who take a painkiller for longer than 30 days are more likely to become addicted, and many in the study had used painkillers for three or more years; these could range from anti-anxiety medications to muscle relaxers.

The study looked at the pharmacy claims of 6.8 million Americans who filled at least one prescription for an opioid between 2009 and 2013, according to The New York Times. Opioids ranged from codeine and oxycodone to morphine and hydrocodone.

"Not only are more people using these medications chronically, they are using them at higher doses than we would necessarily expect," said Dr. Glen Stettin, a senior vice president at Express Scripts, via the news organization. "And they are using them in combinations for which there isn't a lot of clinical justification."

However, researchers believe that many health officials are choosing to overlook how prescription drug abuse can result in accidental death. In fact, painkillers are responsible for about 70 percent of accidental deaths.

"It's just not the proper way to manage chronic pain," concluded Dr. Andrew J. Kolodny, chief medical official of Phoenix House, a drug treatment organization. "That's a red flag that they are either not being managed correctly, or something else is going on." 

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