At a summit in Atlanta this week, President Donald Trump touted his administration's actions on combating the opioid crisis and claimed generally that problem was down "17 percent over last year."
But medical ethicist Art Caplan said the president didn't have his facts straight.
"He's confused here," Caplan told Boston Public Radio Thursday. Caplan is a Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Chair, director of the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center, and the co-host of the "Everyday Ethics" podcast.
What is actually down 17 percent is the number of prescriptions for opioids dispensed monthly by pharmacies (a clarification that was later made by White House spokesman Judd Deere.)
"There has been a decrease in prescriptions and that's good, and physicians are being educated and watched to not over-prescribe opioids," Caplan said. "But the death rates haven't changed."
Caplan said he thinks the Trump administration has not dedicated enough resources to efficiently tackle the crisis. The White House has plans to spend $6 billion on the epidemic over the next two years, and earlier this month announced a $350 million plan to reduce opioid deaths, according to ABC News.
"It's been two years into his presidency and we've got this epidemic ravaging our country, and he's not really thrown serious money at it," Caplan said. "It's just not really enough to handle what is killing young people in America."