NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's top public health agency has revised its guidelines for U.S. doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid painkillers.
The new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations are an update to 2016 guidelines.
Those older suggestions were widely adopted and added momentum to a decline in opioid painkiller prescriptions.
But they also were seen as a barrier to care.
CDC officials say the new guidelines are designed to ensure that patients get compassionate and safe pain care.
Among the changes: The CDC no longer suggests trying to limit opioid treatment for acute pain to three days.
