Nadav Davidovitch presented on The Knesset Health Committee

The Knesset Health Committee met this month to discuss the important subject of the rise in the consumption of strong pain medications (opioids) in Israel. Participants in the discussion included MK Uriel Busso, chair of the committee, MK Orit Farkash Hacohen, who initiated the discussion, and additional members of the Knesset. Prof. Nadav Davidovitch, Principal Researcher and Chair of the Taub Center Health Policy Program, presented an in-depth survey of the phenomenon and the findings of the Taub Center research on the subject. He stressed that inappropriate use of strong pain medications leads to addiction and other severe negative consequences, and noted that the majority of the rise in consumption is among patients of lower socioeconomic status. He added that in order to deal with this in the most effective way, national level programs need to be initiated based on the experiences of other countries with the opioid crisis.