This post follows up on last week’s primer on how abuse of prescription pain medications has led to what’s now recognized as a true national crisis. The new podcast Embedded provides a riveting inside look at how the use of one particularly powerful prescription painkiller, Opana, impacted life in a small Indiana town.

The Embedded piece entitled “The House” is a true microcosm that for its listeners quickly leads to a practical understanding of the pain med problem.

Part of the story portrays how a well respected nurse working at a local hospital injures her back helping a patient.  She is prescribed meds to treat the pain, gets hooked on Opana and things spiral out of control from there.  Small town Indiana but could happen anywhere…. and probably does.

Many employers have been impacted and many more are proactively tuning in knowing the potential impact on both the well being of employees and the well being of their bottom lines.  The piece is both an eye opener and an education; a recommended listen.  Thanks to Mike Barrett for the tip on it.