We Must Solve the Opioid Problem Without Making the Pain Problem Worse
“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” Scholars differ on the origins of that quote, but that debate doesn’t change the core truth being expressed. Humans can’t expect to live a life without pain; to be alive is to hurt. Fortunately, science has delivered some...
Warning Signs for Parents Concerned About Teenage Opioid Abuse
The opioid epidemic gripping North Carolina is not only affecting adults or users of street drugs or illegal narcotics. Prescription opioid medications are responsible for more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.[1] In 2017 alone, more than five North Carolinians...
Using a Village to Solve NC’s Opioid Epidemic
The opioid epidemic continues to touch every corner of our state, but Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC) is making progress in solving the problem. In the past year, we have… Began limiting first-time prescriptions of short-acting opioids to...
North Carolina Has an Opioid Problem, How Did We Get Here?
“We are often loathe to give liberal amounts of narcotics because the drug addiction itself may become a hideous spectacle.” Those words were written by Warren Cole, MD, FACS, in 1956 for a book describing cancer pain treatment in the mid-20th century. In Dr. Cole’s...Prevent the spread of Coronavirus
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