Preventing opioid overdoses and death: let’s start in the hospitals (April 2019)

Summary

According to the National Institutes of Health (January 2019), more than 130 people in the United States die after overdosing on opioids every day. Among these deaths are patients in the hospital setting, recovering from surgical procedures or undergoing sedation, who are often prescribed opioids such as morphine and oxycodone to manage pain – a necessity for healthy and comfortable recovery. But at certain doses, these drugs can also cause respiratory failure, and, because each patient is different, there is no one dose that is 'right' or 'wrong'.

Hospitals must take action to ensure their staff are aware of these risks, and put protocols in place to prevent patient deaths.

The authors of this US article, published by Medium, offer recommendations for improving patient safety in this area.