Deaths from prescription painkiller overdoses among women have increased more than 400% since 1999, the Centers for Disease Control reported July 2. In fact, every three minutes a woman goes to the emergency room for prescription painkiller use or abuse. "The big picture is that this is a big problem that has gotten much worse quickly," Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the CDC, told the Associated Press. The death rate for men from prescription painkillers was up 265 percent since 1999. Officials with the CDC said that because women are more likely to have chronic pain, be prescribed prescription painkillers, be given higher doses, and use them for longer time periods than men, they are most at risk for overdose. The agency urged doctors to take advantage of prescription drug monitoring programs to identify patients who may be improperly obtaining or using painkillers such as Vicodin, OxyContin, Opana and methadone, noting that women are more likely than men to "doctor shop" for narcotics. Dr. David Sack, CEO of Promises Treatment Centers, told CBSNews.com that doctors are prescribing these opioid painkillers too freely. While 40 years ago many physicians held off on giving out pain medication, in the 1970s many medical...