• About Us
  • Write For Us
  • Advertising
  • Support
  • Contact Us
September 25, 2023 4:20 am CDT
Heartland Newsfeed
  • Illinois
    • Local
      • Capital Area
      • East Central Illinois
      • West Central Illinois
    • Regional
      • Chicagoland
      • Metro-East
      • Northern Illinois
      • Quad Cities
      • Southern Illinois
    • Obits
    • Executive Watch
    • Legislative Watch
    • Road Conditions
      • Illinois
    • Weather Closings
      • Central Illinois
  • Missouri
    • Regional
      • Northeastern Missouri
      • East Central Missouri
      • St. Louis Metro
      • Southeast Missouri
    • Executive Watch
    • Legislative Watch
    • Weather Closings
      • Greater STL Metro (IL/MO)
    • Road Conditions
      • Missouri
  • Weather
  • National
  • World
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • OPINION
  • Radio
    • Affiliates
    • Network Schedule
    • Network Streams
    • Podcasts
  • Features
    • Business Directory
    • Classifieds
      • Current Ads
      • Job Board
        • Job Listings
        • J2CTalroo
        • Post a Job
        • Receive Alerts
        • ZipSearch
    • Community Calendar
    • Live Video
    • Newsfeeds
    • Puzzles & More
  • Store
  • Deals
  • Calendar
No Result
View All Result

No products in the cart.

Heartland Newsfeed
No Result
View All Result

In Light Of Opioid Epidemic, VA Reduces Opioids Prescriptions For Chronic Pain

Danielle L. by Danielle L.
May 7, 2018 - Updated on February 14, 2022
in Your Health
Reading Time: 2 mins read
Donate
0
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is turning to alternative treatments for pain relief in light of the opioid crisis. According to the Boston Globe, the White River Junction VA Medical Center has cup 42% of its opioid prescriptions.
“It used to be most patients would be on opioids,” said hospital pain clinic supervisor Dr. Julie Franklin. “That’s not the case any longer.”
In 2014, up to 2,088 patients received opioid medication for chronic pain and 46 patients received 400 milligrams of morphine a day. In 2017, the number of patients receiving opioid medication dropped to 1,221 and only four patients receive heavier doses of morphine.
In the face of the opioid epidemic, the VA says the goal of embracing holistic treatment over opioids is meant to reduce the risk of veterans developing addiction and to help those who are suffering from addiction.

“We’ve definitely saved some lives,” said Franklin about the shift toward holistic treatment. “We’ve helped a lot of veterans.”
Chronic pain is unfortunately common among veterans. More than 50% of older veterans and 60% of those who’ve returned from service in Afghanistan and Iraq are afflicted with chronic pain.
The most common causes include battlefield injuries, nerve damage, headaches, and back ailments. Up to 80% of the American population will suffer from back pain during sometime in their life, experts say.
In the past, opioids were dispensed by medical professionals both in the VA and across the nation as the default remedy for pain. In fact, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting, the number of opioids prescribed by the VA increased by 270% between 2001 and 2013. Yet the number of patients increased by less than 40%.
This was incredibly problematic considering four out of five people suffering from heroin use disorder say their addiction began with misusing prescription painkillers.
“Because of their aggressive use of opioids, they wound up with an enormous problem,” said Dr. Andrew Kolodny. Kolodny is the co-director of the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University. “Tens of thousands of veterans ended up addicted,” he said.
But now that the VA is embracing alternative treatments for pain including pool therapy and acupuncture, opioid prescriptions have successfully reduced. Planned legislation on VA pain care is also planned to draw from the work of White River Junction.
Under the proposed planned by U.S. Representative Annie Kuster (D-NH), six veterans hospitals across the U.S. would be designated as a center of excellence.
At these hospitals, teams of integrated specialists would develop and maintain the hospitals’ pain care much in the same way as White River Junction. A national coordinator for pain care would also be established within the VA.
Danielle L.
+ posts
  • Danielle L.
    https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/hubshouteditor/
    Music may help reduce anxiety, improve brain function in dementia patients
  • Danielle L.
    https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/hubshouteditor/
    Why winter is actually a great time for home remodeling
  • Danielle L.
    https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/hubshouteditor/
    Study finds increased risk of facing poverty in retirement
  • Danielle L.
    https://www.heartlandnewsfeed.com/author/hubshouteditor/
    Could Brexit be the reason behind the 43% spike in green energy patents?

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Telegram
  • Print
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...
Share196Tweet123Share5Send
  • Workforce training center opens in Litchfield

    1466 shares
    Share 586 Tweet 367
  • Missouri law to crack down on porch pirates

    960 shares
    Share 384 Tweet 240
  • Missouri Dems critical of proposed tax cut

    945 shares
    Share 378 Tweet 236
  • No management pay raises in UPS deal

    914 shares
    Share 366 Tweet 229
  • McARDLE PAPERS: The most corrupt committee in the national Libertarian Party

    903 shares
    Share 361 Tweet 226

OPERATING HOURS

Online all the time 
Office Hours: 8 AM to 8 PM

Sitemap | Published Press | Privacy Policy
Staff Email | Independent Media | Buy traffic for your website

LIVE WEBSITE VIEWERS

Some rights reserved 2017-2023 by Heartland Newsfeed, a subsidiary partnership by Heartland Internet Media Networks and Heartland Media Group of Central Illinois LLC. Content published by Heartland Newsfeed staff is covered by the BipCot NoGov license. This allows use and re-use by anyone except governments and government agents. License on record. JNews theme designed and developed by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Politics
    • Business
    • World
    • Science
  • Entertainment
    • Gaming
    • Music
    • Movie
    • Sports
  • Tech
    • Apps
    • Gear
    • Mobile
    • Startup
  • Lifestyle
    • Food
    • Fashion
    • Health
    • Travel

Some rights reserved 2017-2023 by Heartland Newsfeed, a subsidiary partnership by Heartland Internet Media Networks and Heartland Media Group of Central Illinois LLC. Content published by Heartland Newsfeed staff is covered by the BipCot NoGov license. This allows use and re-use by anyone except governments and government agents. License on record. JNews theme designed and developed by Jegtheme.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

WP Radio
WP Radio
OFFLINE LIVE
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00
%d bloggers like this: