EPIDEMIC

U.S. Medical Task Force: Doctors Should Ask Patients About Illegal Drug Use

Such a recommendation is a reversal of the panel’s previous position that doctors should not ask about illicit drugs.

A national medical advisory panel released a draft recommendation that all U.S. doctors should ask all adults aged 18 or older about their drug use in an effort to stanch the worsening opioid epidemic. Such a recommendation reverses the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s previous position that doctors should not ask patients about their illicit drug use.

The independent panel stressed that it is not recommending drug tests, but said that its proposition is a response to the 7.5 million Americans that have been diagnosed with dependence on illicit drugs in the past year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Co-vice chair Karina Davidson said the group is seeking comments on the recommendations before finalizing—a process that typically lasts a few months.