03/23/2026    

PODIATRISTS IN THE NEWS

ND Podiatrist Uses Patient Toolkit to Lower Patient Opioid Use

 

Recent studies found 75% of illegal opioid use starts with pills prescribed by doctors for pain management. Those same pills are linked to thousands of overdose deaths every year. Now, a surgical center in Minot is working to change that by launching an effort to cut back on these prescriptions. Doctors now give patients a toolkit which includes a chart to track pill use as well as a disposal kit for leftover opioids. This is made possible through Goldfinch, a healthcare company behind the Billion Pill Pledge Program.

 

Dr. Aaron Albers

 

“It’s changed the way I prescribe opioids, because we’re able to monitor how many prescriptions and how many pills patients were getting after their surgeries. And I’ve been able to make adjustments,” said Aaron Albers, DPM, podiatry specialist at Dakota Surgical Center. The results are already showing up at the center. The center said so far, 12 patients have used zero opioid pills after their operations.

 

Source: Kyona Rivera, KFYR-TV [3/18/26]