Response to Stat News Article
Open Letter to Stat News
In Stat News, David Armstrong’s article on March 24, “TV documentary on pain treatment funded by doctor with industry ties,” misrepresented the purpose of the film, “The Painful Truth“; ignored several of my detailed answers to his questions; and unfairly criticized my professional associations.
Armstrong suggested that the TV documentary downplayed the role of pharma’s contribution to the opioid problem. It didn’t, nor did it advocate for the use of any drugs, including opioids, because that was not the purpose of the film. Rather, it focused on the lack of compassion and treatment for people in pain, and it shed light on the largest public health problem in America: chronic pain.
The Stat News article states, “Also criticized is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which last year issued voluntary guidelines that advise doctors that the use of non-opioid treatment is preferred for chronic pain.” Yes, the CDC is criticized in the documentary, but not because it recommends non-opioid treatments. It’s criticized because the CDC guidelines have caused many patients to lose access to pain management.
Opioids Should Not Be the Rule of Pain Management
The article inaccurately states that I want opioids to be “the rule” of pain management. I never said any such thing. As I told Armstrong, I consider opioids to be imperfect analgesics, at best, and I emphasized how critical it is that we develop and research drugs and treatments that will eliminate the need for opioids. I also explained that our current opioid crisis is largely due to lack of insurance coverage for alternatives to opioids.
The documentary clearly advocates for a multi-discipline treatment and favorably shows a clinic where patients get such treatment including bio-feedback and occupational therapy. It also chronicles the story of NFL football player, Hal Garner, whose life was destroyed by opioids. Given this, it is hard to see how one could conclude the film advocates for opioid therapy.
Armstrong seemed to be most concerned that my professional work with the pharmaceutical industry had somehow influenced the messages in the show. In reality, my wife and I committed to funding the documentary ourselves. We accepted no corporate sponsorship because we wanted the freedom to share the truth of these stories from the patients’ point of view, and not from the perspective of pharma, regulators, or insurance.
Publishing the amount of money associated with my research misleads readers into thinking I personally received those funds. I did not. The research dollars received from pharma were grants for clinical studies conducted by the research company where I was employed. The government requires the funds to be reported under my name since I was the principal investigator for the studies, but I am not a personal recipient of these grants. I clearly explained that to Armstrong when he asked me about those specific funds.
Medical Research Helps People Who Live With Pain and Addiction
I am currently working with several pharmaceutical companies with the potential to develop game-changing innovations. We are making headway in creating pain medicines that will be as powerful as opioids, but will have almost no addiction potential and/or risk of overdose. We need pharma’s involvement for these advances to occur, and that is why I work with them. I’m deeply grateful that I have the training and experience to contribute something of value to society. My ability to conduct comprehensive medical research enables me to help the community of people living with pain as well as those living with addiction.
Armstrong’s article, filled with criticism as it is, ironically shows why it was important to produce the documentary. It illustrates how opioids are such a volatile topic that anyone associated with them — whether it’s a researcher, Pharma, or patients with pain — are subject to censure, antipathy, and bias.
The film attempted to give people in pain a voice. The painful truth is that they have been voiceless and continue to be victims in a broken healthcare system.
113 million Americans live with chronic pain. Dr. Lynn Webster is a powerful voice for the voiceless. I’m grateful for your work, and for dedicating your life to help others. Thank you, Dr Webster. The Painful Truth is exactly what you titled it..Painful and the Truth.
Ignore the haters! You did a fantastic job with the documentary and book! If a viewer didn’t know your views on the opioid issue, it would be difficult to to tell where you stood from watching the documentary and reading your book. It spells out the limitations of interventional procedures, various surgeries, non-medical treatment, and details the good, the bad, and the ugly as far as opioids are concerned.
The truth hurts and THE PAINFUL TRUTH is just that, a no no holes barred account of what medicine and society are only beginning to fully realize: there is only so much doctors and nurses can do to relieve pain. We can reattach limbs, replace joints, transplant organs, and obliterate once fatal tumors, but we can’t kill the pain monster. Worse, fears about addiction and financial concerns prevent doctors from fully utilizing the treatments that have been developed. So all too often it’s not a matter of we CAN’T relieve pain, it’s a decision we WON’T. That’s a painful truth that hard for anyone to stomach.
David Armstrong MIGHT have a leg to stand, albeit a weak one (herniated disc impinging on spinal cord maybe???) on if you had chosen to accept an educational grant from a pharmaceutical company. Even then, an examinination of the patients you selected would disprove Armstrong’s argument. Some of the patients are truly blessed to have an improved quality of life with opioids. Others, depict a vivid picture of the pitfalls of opioids and the serious consequences Involved. Even the most fortunate patients still have pain. Any reader or viewer will understand the urgency for research into new treatments. This is no infomercial for opioids. It’s an honest exploration of the realities of life for those afflicted by chronic pain – and ought to be mandatory viewing for everyone from the most powerful individuals in government, the medical community, and everyone with a body that will eventually wear out.
The truth hurts and THE PAINFUL TRUTH is just that, a no no holes barred account of what medicine and society are only beginning to fully realize: there is only so much doctors and nurses can do to relieve pain. We can reattach limbs, replace joints, transplant organs, and obliterate once fatal tumors, but we can’t kill the pain monster. Worse, fears about addiction and financial concerns prevent doctors from fully utilizing the treatments that have been developed. So all too often it’s not a matter of we CAN’T relieve pain, it’s a decision we WON’T. That’s a painful truth that hard for anyone to stomach.
Please help those of us who suffer chronic pain by providing us with information on how to contact our legislature and tell them what we must endure–terrible, chronic pain and help us to educate them. Legislators and insurance companies are not doctors. They should NOT be allowed to make decisions about chronic pain and the proper, humane treatment for pain or chronic pain patients. Opiates prescribed by physicians educated in medicine are not the problem. Illicit, illegal street drugs and drug traffickers ARE the problem! Get on that bandwagon and stop the flow of illegal drugs. Novel idea! Leave pain management to the physicians who know what they’re doing!
Jenny, getting in touch with Federal and State legislators is a great idea. You can get contact information on this site: https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials. For additional resources and support, you can visit http://www.thepainfultruth.com and http://www.lynnwebstermd.com/. I hope you’ll have a chance to view the public television documentary, “The Painful Truth.” You can find out more about that here: http://thepainfultruthdocumentary.com/