An epidemic of drug abuse and mortality from opioid prescription medication, cannot go unnoticed. There is substantial evidence in support of non-opioid alternatives to chronic pain management, including other pharmacologic approaches, exercise, physical therapy, acupuncture, weight loss, smoking cessation, chiropractic care, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and other integrative health modalities.

• Opioids were involved in 47,600 overdose deaths in 2017, accounting for 67.8% of all drug overdose deaths.
• The amount paid for treatment of substance use disorders is only a small portion of the costs these disorders impose on society. An analysis suggested that the total costs of prescription opioid use disorders and overdoses in the United States was $78 billion in 2013. Of that, only 3.6 percent, or about $2.8 billion, was for treatment.