New Alberta figures show nearly 40 per cent of those dying from an overdose had been prescribed opioids by at least three different doctors in the year before they died. "He was able to cobble together enough opioids by doctor shopping to not withdraw, not go into withdrawal," says McBain. New guidelines on opioid prescriptionWhen OxyContin hit the market in 1996, it was heavily promoted by its manufacturer Purdue Pharma and became widely used. Currently there is no upper limit and some patients are prescribed over 200 mg.Not recommending opioids for patients with active substance abuse disorders. The college also wants doctors to review a patient's medication history before writing a prescription, in order to avoid the doctor shopping that led to Miller's death.

Source: CBC News February 11, 2017 10:01 UTC