Opioid dependence leads to a "tsunami" of services

I'm part of the Grand Rounds planning committee at my hospital. Over the last two years there has been a lot of interest in strategies for helping clinicians manage patients with chronic pain and the basics of opioid prescribing. It appears our inner-city needs aren't that different than the rest of the country's. 

Kaiser Health News and NPR reported today on a new study out that shows the US has had a 3,000% increase in opioid dependence services from 2007 to 2014 and this is among patients with private insurance. You can find the original study here. 

Unfortunately Wisconsin is doing a little worse than the rest of our peers in the Midwest (see Figure 9. below).