RT Journal
A1 Juurlink DN, Dhalla IA, Nelson LS
T1 Improving opioid prescribing: The new york city recommendations
JF JAMA
JO JAMA
YR 2013
FD March 6
VO 309
IS 9
SP 879
OP 880
DO 10.1001/jama.2013.1139
UL http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.1139
AB 
On January 10, 2013, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced new guidelines for the prescribing of opioid analgesics to patients being discharged from the city's emergency departments. The guidelines were developed by a panel of emergency physicians and are intended to reduce opioid addiction and overdose deaths while preserving access to opioids for patients in whom the benefits are expected to exceed the harms. Because most opioids are prescribed by primary care physicians, the introduction of these guidelines alone is unlikely to effect a large decrease in opioid-related harm. Nevertheless, it is worth considering why such guidelines are necessary and what complementary actions physicians, patients, and health authorities should take to address the increasing problem of opioid-related harm.