NEJM Knowledge+ Pain Management and Opioids — A New Adaptive Learning Module

Abstract

The United States has seen a dramatic rise in opioid use and misuse during the past three decades. In 2017, more than 11 million persons reported misusing prescription opioid analgesics during the past year, more than 2 million reported opioid use disorder,1 and there were, on average, 130 overdose deaths involving an opioid every day.2 The origins of the opioid crisis are multifactorial, including complex social and economic determinants, but the increase in prescriptions for opioid analgesics is a major contributor. The number of prescriptions for these agents quadrupled between 1999 and 2010,3 largely owing to a greater focus on . . .