US top doctor, Dr Vivek Murthy advises all US doctors on opioid epidemic

In the next few days every doctor in the US will be receiving a letter sent by US surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy, which would be the first instance of the top doctor reaching out to all physicians.

Murthy has an urgent reason for doing so, with US citizens dying each year by the tens of thousands from overdoses of prescription painkillers such as Oxycontin and Vicodin.

"I am asking for your help to solve an urgent health crisis facing America: the opioid epidemic," Murthy wrote.

In his letter Murthy told physicians their desire to keep their patients out of pain could be understood. "It is important to recognize that we arrived at this place on a path paved with good intentions," he wrote.

However those intentions had gone wrong as from 1999 to 2014, over 165,000 people in the US died from overdoses related to opioid pain medications, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While in some cases the drugs were brought off the streets, in most cases they were not. In 2012, health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication -- enough for every adult in the US to have a bottle of pills, according to the CDC.

"The results have been devastating," Murthy wrote to the doctors as also to nurse practitioners and dentists, who also prescribed drugs.

The epidemic had also become increasingly deadly - opioid overdose deaths had quadrupled since 1999.

Murthy encouraged health care providers to sign a pledge to educate themselves about safe and effective pain treatment, screening patients for opioid use disorder, connecting them with evidence-based treatment, and to talking about and treating addiction as a chronic illness.

''In combination, our hope is that these will help clinicians to shape their practice and be part of the solution when it comes to addressing the opioid epidemic,'' Murthy explained.