Oregon medical officials are looking at ways to curb and reduce the number of opioid deaths. Physicians and medical directors met at a summit in Seaside, Thursday, to discuss options.
At the North Coast Opioid Summit, doctors and pharmacists discussed different kinds of pain killers and overdose medications to prescribe. Doctors also talked about treatment for addiction before patients overdose. Doctor Paul Coelho says the drug buprenorphine has promising results.
Coelho: "All opioid overdose deaths kill by stopping breathing, and buprenorphine has much less effect at stopping breathing, but it quenches the craving for the drug."
Coelho encouraged other physicians to do their own research on different drugs. Drug take back programs were also a hot topic. Comparisons to the opioid epidemic were made to the national call to action 50 years ago to fight tobacco use.
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