More doctors are prescribing methadone as a painkiller -- a benefit to some patients but also a trend that is fueling a jump in methadone overdoses and deaths, the Associated Press reported Aug. 13.

Methadone is attractive because it is cheaper than other powerful painkillers, like OxyContin. But experts worry that doctors are not adequately educated about the dangerous drug interactions that can lead to methadone overdoses, which have increased fourfold in recent years.

"I think that physicians who are prescribing methadone for analgesia may not be as completely aware of some of the properties of methadone that create a potential for harm," said Robert Lubran, director of the division of pharmacologic therapies at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Lubran warned that methadone takes longer to work than other medications and stays in the body longer, raising the possibility of drug interactions that can lead to decreased heart rate and blood pressure, possibly resulting in coma or death.