Combating the Opioid Epidemic with Machine Learning - IBM Blog Research

The opioid epidemic has become one of the worst health crises in US history. In 2015, more than 90 Americans died every day from opioid overdoses, a number comparable to deaths in car accidents and projected to have risen further in 2016 and 2017. The problem often begins with legitimate healthcare encounters in which opioid painkillers are first prescribed, such as for surgeries or chronic back pain. During treatment, some patients become addicted and go on to suffer the well-documented consequences of addiction, while others do not, even if they become long-term users. To combat the epidemic, it is vital to understand the exact circumstances under which medically sanctioned treatments can devolve into addiction.