New data shows that the number of prescriptions for opioid painkillers filled in the United States last year fell drastically, representing the biggest drop in 25 years.

The decline comes amid prescription restrictions and public education campaigns to help spread awareness of how opioids, when used incorrectly, can have harmful side effects. The report on the findings, which was released Thursday, shows a nine percent average drop nationwide in the number of prescriptions for opioids filled by retail and mail-order pharmacies.

Each state and Washington D.C. had at least a five percent decrease in opioid prescriptions. Declines were higher than 10 percent in 18 states, including all of New England, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

“We’re at a really critical moment in the country when everybody’s paying attention to this issue,” said Michael Kleinrock, research director at IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science, which released the report. “People really don’t want them if they can avoid them.”

Drop In Opioid Prescriptions

Opioid prescriptions have been rising steadily since the mid-1990’s, with use peaking in 2011. The US far outpaced levels of other wealthy countries where national health systems are more strict about narcotic control. Overdoses and deaths from prescription opioids have been soaring in recent years, but advocacy groups, physicians and patients have been fighting back with increased educational strategies.

With all this said, opioids still do play an essential role in pain management for patients with chronic conditions. We are not against opioids when they are part of an integrated pain management plan, the problem becomes when doctors don’t take the time to educate their patients about their risks or conduct follow up checks to ensure patients aren’t in over their heads with their medication.

The downturn in opioid prescriptions is both good and bad. It’s a good sign that pill-mill doctors are getting exposed for what they are, but there’s also a decent chance that some chronic pain patients are struggling to get access to the medications they dearly need. It’s a double-edged sword, and there’s no perfect solution, but we should continue to push patient education so every person who takes a painkiller for their issue knows exactly what to expect and how to avoid a potentially serious issue.