Though an estimated 11 Ohioans a day are dying from fatal opioid-related overdoses, fewer opioid pills are being prescribed to patients in Ohio.
For the fifth year in a row, the number of prescription painkillers dispensed has gone down - more than 28 percent in the past five years. Steve Schierholt, executive director of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy, credits new rules that limit the number of opioid pills that can be prescribed at one time. And he says doctors are finding success in using the state's database.
"Our hope, and what we believe is happening, is when the prescribers have that available to them, they are making different decisions for their patients."
A new Ohio Pharmacy Board report shows an 88 percent decrease since 2012 in the number of people who sought out different physicians to get medications.
