Methadone Used as Pain Killer Proving Fatal

Physicians Prescribing Methadone Without Proper Knowledge

Methadone, prescribed by doctors and other health care professionals for their patients with severe back pain, and similar chronic pain conditions, is associated with twice as many death as those seen with heroin. And, according to some reports, methadone overdoses are at least equal to fatalities associated with other prescription pain killers such as vicodin and oxycontin.

Methadone was, until recently, primarily and successfully used to treat drug addiction, specifically heroin addiction. However a trend has emerged in which doctors who may not necessarily be educated about the synthetic opium, are prescribing it as a pain killer, with deadly consequences. Insurance companies like the generic drug because it's a cheaper alternative to agents like oxycontin.

The FDA has been slow to recognize the problem, and did not change the high dosage recommendation on the pack aging until 2006. In addition to changing the labelling for the drug, the FDA is considering mandatory classes for physicians on prescribing narcotics for their patients, in an effort to reduce these unnecessary deaths.

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Published on Aug-18-08