"The Biggest Public Health Crisis": FDA Outlines Its 2019 Efforts to Combat the Opioid Crisis

March 18, 2019 | Strategic Insights for Ambulatory Care

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The opioid crisis "remains the biggest public health crisis" facing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and its scope reflects mistakes and failings from many, including FDA itself, the agency's outgoing commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, said in a February 26, 2019, statement. However, Gottlieb said, "at the FDA, we've worked to learn from past mistakes" and the agency is continuing to address new threats. A key goal in 2019 will again be reducing inappropriate prescriptions, Gottlieb said. One such action FDA plans to take is determining whether "short-duration packaging" for certain opioid analgesics should be required, allowing providers the option to limit patients to a few days' worth of opioids.

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