How we can reduce dependency on opioid painkillers in rural and regional Australia

Between 2008 and 2011, the rate of people treated for dependency on morphine in rural and regional Australia was roughly double that of their major city counterparts. Dependency on morphine, codeine, oxycodone and other opioid painkillers reflects what we already know about life in the small towns of Australia. Outside major cities, people tend to have poorer health and reduced life expectancy. Long travel times to health services, small health facilities and greater demand for doctors makes accessing support for improved health difficult. But living in country Australia doesn’t have to be a prescription for poor health.