Routine Checkup: The Opioid Epidemic - Not Ending Any Time Soon

Dr. Michael L. Barnett is Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a primary care physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. His research focuses on high-risk medications and the organization of primary and specialty care. This week he joins the fellas to talk about the opioid epidemic that continues to ravage the United States and what needs to change in order for us to see light at the end of the tunnel. There are many huge gaps in the addiction treatment system in the U.S. — reliance on abstinence-based therapy, low provider supply, unwillingness to address uninsurance or housing as a major issue. This is just the tip of the iceberg.