Doctors write fewer opioid prescriptions, but epidemic persists

[KSTP TV, January 01, 0001] Doctors are writing fewer opioid prescriptions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That's good news experts said, but it's not nearly good enough.

The number of opioids prescribed in the U.S. peaked in 2010, then decreased each year through 2015, the CDC reported. The problem is the number of opioids prescribed remains about three times higher than in 1999.

"So that caused the cascade of what we now are seeing as catastrophic results," explained Dr. Roger Laroche, the medical director of Allina Health System's addiction medicine service.