Dopesick Breakdown: Opioid Crisis 101

Dr. Van (board certified pain specialist) takes you through the first episode of “Dopesick” and breaks down the hard truths about how the pharmaceutical industry tricked the healthcare industry into over-prescribing a drug (Oxycontin) that is just as addictive as heroin. Widespread substance use disorder and addiction are the result of the opioid crisis, but the healthcare system can also be part of the solution to these medically manageable issues. If doctors and their patients who use opioids chronically work together to educate themselves and trust each other, opioids can be prescribed safely and effectively.

[Image Description: The cast of "Dopesick" appear across the frame, a few men in suits, then in the middle a doctor wearing a white coat and stethoscope, then Dr. Van wearing a teal colored blouse, white dangling earrings, and long black hair, and on the far right, Rosario Dawson. The whole frame has a greenish-gray tinge and white tablets appear to be raining down in the background. Across the top in white letters reads "Opioid Crisis 101" and across the bottom "DOPESICK" in promotional font.]

0:00 Intro, Spoiler Warning
0:26 Dr. Finnix is a Good Doctor
1: 27 Dr. Sackler is an Evil Doctor
2:33 The Heroes
3:19 Opioid Crisis 101
3:27 1. Lies
4:38 2. Special FDA Label
5:45 3. Advertising Fraud
6:16 4. Identify Users
7:04 5. Seduce Prescribers
7:40 6. Target Communities
8:13 Substance Use Disorder and Addiction
9:52 Treating Pain Safely
11:07 Risk is Never Zero
11:49 Hold Healthcare Accountable
12:07 Outro

How True is Dopesick? https://www.npr.org/2021/11/08/105147...

Opioid overdose deaths have increased by 400% since the 1990s. West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and DC had the highest drug overdose death rates in 2017.
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databri...

Drug Monitoring Program Infographic:
https://www.nebraskahospitals.org/qua...

IMS is getting rich off of mining your healthcare data:
https://fortune.com/2016/02/09/ims-he...