Hunter
04/20/25
A recent Veterans Administration study says while controlled opioid use is necessary for some groups, such as veterans struggling to manage their pain, there is a great deal of discrepancy as to who the pills are prescribed to.
The Daily Iowan reports the study, that ran from 2016 to 2023, found that veterans living in rural communities were prescribed opioids 45 percent more often than their urban counterparts to treat chronic pain.
While the researchers involved say that the study is simply observational, it could point to rural veterans’ more significant need for access to pain management.
Johnson County Paramedic Matt Tracy is a former Marine who served two tours in Afghanistan and grew up in a small town. He believes isolation plays a significant role in opioid addiction among veterans. He also believes it exacerbates other addictions like alcoholism, which he struggled with shortly after being discharged.
Tracy recommends rural veterans reach out to local primary care providers as a second source for their care. He also said due to the opioid crisis, paramedics use ketamine first instead of fentanyl or morphine and suggests ketamine clinics in small towns as a potential solution.
Johnson County Public Health Director Samuel Jarvis hopes that providers are not only exploring all of the clients’ options that may make opioids unnecessary but also educating and equipping them with Narcan, a life-saving medication used to stop opioid overdoses.