IHC Claims Progress in Lowering Number of Opiate Prescriptions

Intermountain Healthcare is claiming progress toward its goal of lowering the number of opiate prescriptions issued by doctors.

IMC Chief Medical Officer David Haselton says a reduction in the number of opiates prescribed is just the beginning of the good news.

The company had hoped to make a 40-percent cut in opiate prescriptions but wound up just short.

The 30-percent cut announced yesterday means Intermountain doctors prescribed three-point-eight-million fewer opiates last year.

Kelly Howard lost her son Billy to opiate addiction in 2014, but she says she's encouraged by Intermountain's work in reducing opiate prescriptions.