Posts by Lynn Webster, M.D.
Please Send the FDA Your Comments
New Opioid Policy Steering Committee On September 29 of this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a notice — Opioid Policy Steering Committee; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request for Comments — in the Federal Register, The Daily Journal of the United States Government. The FDA is seeking comments from members of the…
Read MoreThe Tribune was wrong. Medicine often involves a risk to the patient.
Please note: This version of the blog originally appeared as an op-ed in the Salt Lake City Tribune on December 10, 2017. The Tribune was wrong. Medicine often involves a risk to the patient. The Salt Lake Tribune published an editorial on Sunday Nov 12, 2017, “Medical professionals need to play a role in opioid crisis.” The…
Read MoreWhat Is a Human Life Worth?
This article first appeared in the 11/29/2017 edition of The Hill. President’s Council of Economic Advisers Calculate the Value of a Human Life President Trump has declared the opioid crisis to be a national health emergency and appears to be developing the rationale for funding interventions to combat the program. The first step is to…
Read MoreDigital Pills and Other Medical Adherence Technology
The Future of Medicine The future of medicine may have arrived, and it has its benefits — but it might also create an Orwellian, Big Brother culture. All medical developments are meant to solve a problem. It is estimated that as often as 80% of the time, patients fail to use medication as directed for…
Read MoreThe DEA Raids the Offices of My Friend and Colleague, Dr. Tennant
DEA Raids Offices of a Prominent Pain Physician According to Pain News Network, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has conducted a raid on the offices of Dr. Forest Tennant, “confiscating all of his patient records, appointment books and financial documents.” A prominent California-based pain physician, Dr. Tennant is a valued friend and colleague. Unfortunately, I…
Read MoreRevealing the Hidden Pain Crisis
Our Perception of Pain Depends on Time and Culture Pain seems universal and irrefutable. Surprisingly, though, our perception and treatment of pain have always depended on time and culture. Currently, pain isn’t considered to be as important as the opioid crisis. The voices of people in pain are often ignored. Sometimes, those who have pain…
Read MoreWays to Help a Recovering Senior Addict Parent from a Distance
Photo via Pixabay By Marie Villeza, Guest Columnist When your senior parent is fighting addiction in a recovery treatment center, and you live far away, it becomes difficult to identify what you can do to help her. Recognized as an “invisible epidemic,” many relatives of seniors hooked on drugs or alcohol first have problems accepting…
Read MoreHow Do You Know If You Are Addicted?
Babies Can’t Be Addicted “Babies Born Addicted,” “Addicted Babies,” “Babies with Addiction,” and similar headlines appear nearly daily in the media. This is because babies exhibit horrible withdrawal symptoms if they are born physically dependent on opioids, and it pulls at our heartstrings to see them suffer. But it misleads media consumers, policymakers, and family…
Read MoreSilence Is Acceptance
I like a million other people who have commented on your blog live with debilitating chronic pain each and every day…… I wanted to know from you is there a place where we chronic pain sufferers can go to plead our cases, to be heard? Is there a way we can get our word…
Read MoreWhat the CDC Can Learn From Utah
Opioid Overdoses Increase Despite CDC’s Efforts Everyone can agree on a few things. First, we have an opioid epidemic. Second, we want to mitigate it. Third, the efforts we’ve seen at the national level to ameliorate the crisis are not working. As USA Today recently reported, the opioid epidemic is getting worse instead of better.…
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