COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- University of Missouri's medical school is working to make sure students train to be responsible doctors in the face of the nationwide opioid crisis.
Lucas Buffaloe is an assistant professor of clinical family and community medicine at the MU School of Medicine. He lectures on opioids, their effects on the brain and how patients develop addictions.
Buffaloe tells the Columbia Missourian that new training involves making sure doctors prescribe responsibly and that all students receive a formal education on how to properly prescribe opioids and watch for signs of addiction.
The increased attention to how medical students are trained stems from the rise in opioid-related deaths. A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that opioid overdoses in the Midwest increased by 70 percent from July 2016 to September 2017.