County: Doctors over-prescribing patients, creating addicts

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Opioid addiction has killed nearly 150 people this year in Erie County. And yet, powerful painkillers like hydrocodone and OxyContin continue to be the No. 1 prescribed drug to treat pain in Medicaid patients.
Local leaders and some in the medical community are saying it’s time to shake that trend.
“We need to make sure that today’s patients don’t become tomorrow’s addicts,” said Erie County Health Commissioner Dr. Gale Burstein.
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