The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the painkiller OxyContin for patients aged 11 years and older who suffer from severe, long-term pain. Supporters of the FDA’s move say it will ease the suffering of children who have no other treatment options and provide physicians with improved dosing and safety information. But critics say that prescribing OxyContin to youth puts them at risk for addiction.
Questions Persist Following FDA's Approval of OxyContin for Kids
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Guests:
Andrew Kolodny, executive director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing and chief medical officer of Phoenix House, the drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation organization
Nirav Pandya, pediatric orthopedic surgeon, UCSF Benioff Childrens Hospital Oakland
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