Editorial Commentary: Uncle Sam Wants YOU! (to Stop the Opioid Crisis)

Over the past few years, the opioid epidemic has become a major battle ground for physicians on a national scale. Rates of death from overdose are rising, and recent cries to mitigate the issue have been met with an onslaught of high-quality research and protocols, both to reduce postoperative pain and to minimize the amounts of narcotics that patients and their loved ones have access to. Physician practice patterns, multimodal pain management, and patient education, as well as the feasibility of standardized postoperative pain regimens for particular procedures, have become components of a multipronged approach for rapid improvement of the current environment. This pervasive crisis begs the question: What role, if any, should the government play in setting rules and regulations for postoperative patients? And if the government intervenes, will the result be effective?