opioids
The Survey Says…the CDC Opioid Guideline Needs to Be Honestly Assessed
One-Year Anniversary of the CDC Opioid Prescribing Guideline On the one-year anniversary of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) opioid prescribing guideline, an online survey of patients, doctors, and healthcare providers conducted by Pain News Network and the International Pain Foundation (iPain) found that the guideline has “harmed pain patients, reduced access to…
Read MoreDo Patients Need Opioids Following Dental Procedures?
According to Fox News, “The American Dental Association recently reported dentistry is responsible for prescribing 12 percent of all instant-release opioids.” The article quotes Dr. Mojgam Fajiram, DDS, of Sutton Advanced Cosmetic Dentistry, who claims the dental industry gives out opioid prescriptions much too quickly “just to treat chronic pain.” Treating Pain from Dental Procedures…
Read MoreAs CDC Guidelines Approach One-Year Anniversary, Questions Loom
“Next month will mark the one year anniversary of opioid guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – guidelines that discourage primary care physicians from prescribing opioids for chronic non-cancer pain,” writes Pat Anson in the February 15, 2017 edition the Pain News Network newsletter. My Expectations for CDC Opioid Guidelines One…
Read MoreConstipation Isn’t a Fitting Punishment for People With Pain
Deb was in a near-fatal car accident. Her arms, legs, and pelvis were severely injured and would require multiple surgeries. She relied on opioids to ease the pain. Along with her other day-to-day medical challenges and constant setbacks, she suffered from constipation which her doctor attributed to her use of painkillers. But he offered no…
Read MoreHurting Pain Patients Is Not the Way to Solve the Opioid Crisis
“The insurance industry appears to have played a major role in the development of a new strategy by the federal government to combat the abuse of opioid pain medication,” writes Pat Anson, editor of Pain News Network. This Orwellian act by powerful insurance companies in collaboration with the US Department of Health and Human…
Read MoreCan You Feel My Pain?
Are patients qualified to determine whether or not opioids help in treating their pain? Pain Medicine Advance Access published a study that was conducted at the Back and Pain Center, University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, MI. The Back and Pain Center is an outpatient tertiary care pain clinic where patients are evaluated for…
Read MoreCreating Positive Change for Babies, One Word at a Time
I’ve been critical of the media’s language in describing aspects of the opioid crisis. To solve the opioid crisis, we have to understand it and use terms that are factual but without spin. I believe the media could be a force in motivating people — the public as well as lawmakers — to take constructive…
Read MoreWhat Happens When Pain Changes a Cop’s Perspective?
A cop who arrested addicts is now experiencing life as a pain patient and has a much different perspective. You can read Nick Selby’s first-person account of “what happens when pain meets bad health policy and bad drug laws” in the Washington Post. He tells his story well, and it’s one that’s familiar to…
Read MorePresident Obama, Overprescribing Isn’t the Only Reason for the Opioid Epidemic
President Barack Obama wrote in the January issue of the Harvard Law Review, “As their [prescription opioids] use has increased, so has their misuse.” This is true, but blaming only overprescribing of opioids for the current opioid crisis demonstrates a lack of understanding about the complexity of the problem. The putative argument President Obama…
Read MoreMisguided Repeal to Cure Opioid Crisis Ignores Patients’ Pain
Once again, I read the Intractable Pain Act (along with the section of it known as the “Pain Patient’s Bill of Rights”) which was passed by the Tennessee House and Senate in 2001 and repealed in 2015. I did not see anything in the legislation that supports the statement made by Knox News columnist Frank…
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