Study estimates that 4,3 million prescriptions for painkillers were diverted to illicit use by doctor shoppers

Almost one percent of all buyers of addictive pain medications in the U.S. were estimated to be “doctor shoppers” who bought large amounts, presumably for illicit use, according to a study from Abt Associates published today in the journal PLOS ONE. This is the first national estimate of opioid medications obtained by persons who seek prescriptions for the same drugs from different physicians without telling them about other prescribers.
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