Drug Overdoses in Health Care Workers Often Involve Drugs Obtained From Workplace

WEDNESDAY, July 30, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Characteristics of fatal drug overdoses among health care workers differ from overdoses in the overall population, according to a study published online July 22 in Addiction.

Thikra Algahtani, from King”s College London, and colleagues sought to understand the characteristics of fatal drug overdoses in health care workers. The analysis included data from the U.K. National Programme on Substance Use Mortality (between 2000 and 2022).

The researchers found that in the 58 identified cases, doctors were the most represented profession (48 percent), with opioids the drug class most often implicated in causing death (43 percent). There was scant evidence of recreational drug use (three cases), while hospital-only medications were prominent among cases (propofol, 29 percent; midazolam, 10 percent; neuromuscular blocking agents, 9 percent). Seven themes were identified: accessing drugs from the workplace, use of skills and/or equipment for intravenous drug administration, obtainment of private prescriptions, diagnosed mental health conditions, recent events negatively impacting mental health, chronic pain and self-medicating, and history of substance use disorder and/or overdose.

“This is an urgent problem as the suicide rate among health care workers is 24 percent higher than the national average in the United Kingdom,” lead author Caroline Copeland, Ph.D., also from King”s College London, said in a statement. “Doctors and nurses work in stressful, high-pressured environments and need bespoke care and support tailored to the specific challenges they face.”

Abstract/Full Text