As clinicians, we’re bound by professionalism and our ethical responsibilities to do no harm and to do what we can to address the pain and suffering of our patients. When powerful pain-relieving opioid medications were introduced a few decades ago, they seemed to be a way to do both.
We now know that the marketing of these powerful medications for chronic pain was not based on sound scientific evidence. We also know that the potential for developing physical dependence, addiction, and misuse is significant and considerably higher than once appreciated. We’re now in the midst of a public health crisis, where an increasing number of Canadians are experiencing overdoses or dying from opioids each year.
