Surgeons and their Iatrogenic Contributions to the US Opioid Crisis

Every year in the US, 42 million surgery patients are prescribed opioids and most of those opioids will not be used. We commonly advise patients to dispose of opioids at take-back events or drop boxes, but less than 10% will do so. Instead, patients misuse, insecurely store, or share opioids putting themselves, families, and communities at risk. We’ll discuss how patient-centered prescribing practices and disposal interventions could reduce the over-supply of prescription opioids and the current gaps in research and practice.

Dr. Lyen C. Huang, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCRS, is an Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Department of Surgery at the University of Utah specializing in colorectal surgery. He joined the University of Utah in 2017 and was a CTSI KL2 scholar from 2020-2022. He is currently funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) on a Helping End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) K23 using behavioral change interventions and implementation science to promote safe disposal and storage of prescription opioids after surgery.