U.S. government hospitals put Native American patients at increased risk for opioid abuse and overdoses, according to a new report.
A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says the hospitals reviewed failed to follow their own protocols for prescribing and dispensing the drugs.
All five Indian Health Services reviewed in the audit had patients who were given opioids in amounts exceeding federal guidelines.
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In 2017, the CDC says Native Americans and Alaska Natives had the second-highest rate of opioid overdose out of all U.S. racial and ethnic groups.
The report made more than a dozen recommendations to the Indian Health Service to better track patients’ health records and pain management.