Researchers from the University of Florida Medical Center anonymously interviewed 55 MDs in a drug addiction recovery program to find out the reasons why abused pharmaceutical drugs. They published their results in the 2013 issue of the Journal of Addiction Medicine. They learned that they used these drugs to manage pain, for psychiatric reasons, and for problems related to work and life stress. The reason for using pharmaceutical drugs is that they are readily available.
The suggestion for treatment in this article was to educate doctors about the misuse of prescription medications and to require ongoing education throughout their careers. While there might be some small benefit from this approach, as usual in the practice of medicine, the solution does not address the problem! It would seem that something should be done to change how doctors are trained.
