As studies in Pain Management Collaboratory research nonpharmacological alternatives to chronic pain, it is important to consider what one should do with unused prescription opioids in their possession. The proper way to dispose of opioids is often unclear, and often misconstrued by the headlines.
William Becker, M.D., and Benjamin Oldfield, M.D., reviewed and responded to an article in Pain Medicine that addressed how the media discusses the disposal of opioids in their editorial “News Media Recommendations for Opioid Disposal: Keeping Flush with the Guidelines?”.
They sat down to talk about their response, the risks of keeping unused opioids at home, and other options for pain management, drawing on their experiences treating patients within Yale School of Medicine’s Opioid Reassessment Clinic and in their individual practices and research.