The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's previous guidance, issued six years ago, helped slow the kind of prescribing that ignited the worst overdose epidemic in U.S. history.
FILE - This June 17, 2019, file photo shows 5-mg pills of Oxycodone. The nation's top public health agency on Thursday proposed changing — and in some instances, dulling — guidelines for U.S. doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid painkillers.NEW YORK — The nation's top public health agency on Thursday proposed changing — and in some instances, softening — guidelines for U.S. doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid painkillers.
The proposed changes, contained in a 229-page draft update in the Federal Register, would roll back some suggested limits on the drugs. Their publication opens a 60-day public comment period. The CDC will consider comments before finalizing the updated guidance. Opioids can be an important tool in treating severe pain from cancer, surgery and serious injuries. But they also can be addictive — even when used under doctors’ orders.
The guidelines are voluntary, but they were widely adopted and added momentum to a dramatic decline in opioid painkiller prescriptions. —The agency would drop the specific recommendation that doctors avoid increasing dosage to a level equivalent to 90 milligrams of morphine per day.
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