The need for better access to pain treatment: learning from drug consumption trends in the USA

The Authors of this letter look at consumption of opioids and alpha 2-delta ligands, also known as gabapentinoids, in Italy, and specifically in the Provincial Health District of Cosenza, as compared with USA trends of recent decades. Access to analgesic drugs since the introduction of Italian law 38/2010 is also evaluated and possible future measures for better management of chronic pain are proposed.