Local Orthopedic Surgeon Utilizes Non-Opioid Approach to Surgery

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Siouxland Public Media News

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A recent investigation by NPR found doctors and other health care providers still prescribe highly addictive pain medication at rates widely considered unsafe. Government studies and medical research shows even though the U.S. makes up 5% of the world’s population, but consume 80% of the world’s prescription opioids. The CDC says in 2018, more than 1 in 5 Americans had an opioid prescription filled and roughly 40 Americans died each day from an opioid overdose. In Iowa, health care providers wrote nearly 50 opioid prescriptions for every 100 people. One local surgeon gives his insight on the opioid epidemic and shares information on a different technique he uses to manage pain in patients. Here’s Siouxland Public Media’s Sheila Brummer and part of her conversation with Dr. Michael Doarn. He is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Tri-State Specialists and Riverview Surgical Center.