Feb 16, 2017 06:25 AM EST By Avery Robbins, UniversityHerald Reporter

A recently published large study suggests that doctors who prescribe opioids painkillers may risk patients to opioid addiction.

Could a long-term use of opioid depend on the doctor who wrote the prescription?

Dr. Michael Barnett of Brigham and Women's Hospital gave a commentary on his team's study - stating that ER patients who made appointments with 'high opioid prescribing doctor' are 30 percent likely to develop a long-term opioid use, UPI wrote. The primary care physician continued that there hasn't been a quantity metric for the prescription.

In the study, the team performs a retrospective analysis of 375,000 patients who had a visit to emergency rooms and complained similar problems between 2008 and 2011. The research also recorded the opioid prescriptions from the doctors who treated these patients. It's reported that there was a pattern that linked to long-term use of opioid.

Americans consume 80% of global opioid painkillers

In 2014, opioid statistics in the United States showed a high percentage of overdose deaths due to the prescriptions. It recorded 44 percent of all overdose deaths. In term of sales, the painkillers have quadrupled since 1999.

A recent report has even claimed that the numbers of deaths due to painkillers abuse have outpaced heroin deaths in the country.

Overtreatment or undertreatment?

Dr. Barnett said that regardless of the dose, the first step would be to decide whether or not to give the opioids prescription. He continued that a doctor's intuition may likely be inconsistent, NY Times reported.

In the midst of the opioid epidemic, the study helps experts to better identify the root causes of opioid abuses as an attempt to reduce the alarming numbers of addiction.

The research is published in New England Journal of Medicine

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