Commentary: Surgeons give patients too many opioids. A few simple steps could curb excess prescribing

America’s opioid epidemic is as bad as it has ever been. Although the sharp increase in opioid overdose deaths over the last decade is largely attributed to the rise in fentanyl distributed through drug cartels, a startling number can be traced to prescriptions.

In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 45 people died each day in 2021 from a prescription opioid overdose — about one-fifth of all opioid-related deaths.

Some efforts to curb opioid prescribing have, promotion of alternative analgesics, provider education and when their patients die from opioid overdoses.