Last week Meet the Press had a segment about the country’s fentanyl crisis. Last year over 100,000 American families lost a loved one to this tragic epidemic. 

One of the featured guests on Meet the Press was Dr. Andrew Kolodny, a founder of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, and the 2018 recipient of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s Angel Of Hope Award. The Partnership recognized Dr. Kolodny for his unwavering support of our opioid prescriber education efforts. He has also been a crucial advisor to  our chair, Elaine Pozycki. It is Elaine's goal that all prescribers have a conversation with a patient (or a minor patient's parent or guardian) warning them of the addictive potential of prescribed opioids and discussing opioid alternatives where possible.

Dr. Kolodny explained on the show that the origins of the national opioid and fentanyl crisis began in most cases with prescribed opioids, which lead to dependency. He also shared data about the link between the level of opioids prescribed and the number of overdoses recorded in the same region. 

Safe prescribing, opioid alternatives, and education are of utmost importance if we hope to see a reversal in the alarming trends we continue to experience in our country.