In response to the epidemic of opiate overdoses in our community, the Lynn Community Health Center has developed formal, evidence-based prescribing guidelines in order to address the need for proper and safe management of chronic pain.
Our providers use our evidence-based guidelines to prescribe appropriately and safely, while respecting patients’ experience of their pain. We believe we have a responsibility to help reduce opioid addiction and overdose deaths in the city of Lynn, without losing our compassion for patients with chronic pain.
If you have chronic pain, or questions about our pain management guidelines, please contact your primary care team.
Some important facts:
Opioid overdoses are the leading cause of overdose death for Americans aged 25-44
Prescription opioids caused more deaths than heroin and other drugs combined
Nearly two million Americans, aged 12 or older, either abused or were dependent on opioids in 2013
Deaths from prescription opioids have quadrupled since 1999
As the sale of prescription opioids increases, so does the number of overdose deaths
*Numbers and statistics are from the Centers for Disease Control