David Copenhaver: New CDC Guidelines Aim to Help in Fight Against Opioid Abuse

For some patients, especially on a short term basis opioids may still be the best treatment option. Safely prescribing these medications is the focus of a field looking to help patients without causing problems in other areas.

While the CDC guidelines may scare some doctors from prescribing opioids at all, David Copenhaver, MD, from UC Davis Health System said they can be more of a base idea for who should receive this type of medication and what other options should be considered. Prior to the guidelines Copenhaver said there was a more liberal approach to prescribing opioids, but that the new ideas should help get opioids to patients who need them and other treatment options to the rest of the patient population.