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The Article in Brief
Denial: The Greatest Barrier to the Opioid Epidemic
Nicole M. Gastala
What This Study Found When a family physician moved to a new rural community, she was unprepared for the constant flow of patients seeking prescriptions for opioids. In this essay, she recounts her patients� denial and anger and her own feelings of frustration and burnout as she tried to balance good medical care with the wants of her patients. A turning point came when she received training in medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Her role transformed from a "villain" trying to prescribe non-opioid therapies, to a coach. The decision to provide her patients and community with medication-assisted treatment, the author states, led to her professional healing.
- The author calls on health care professionals to challenge their prescribing habits, recognize opioid addiction, and support one another in providing treatment.