opioids
Unintended Consequences of Limiting Prescribed Opioids
Arbitrarily Reducing Opioids Payers, legislators, and healthcare systems are implementing limits on how many pills may be dispensed to people with pain in an effort to curb the opioid crisis. CVS announced this past September they would limit the number of pills new patients with acute pain can obtain to a seven-day supply. Last July,…
Read MorePlease 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 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 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.…
Read MoreDo Opioids Impact Life Expectancy?
Meet Rachel and Lorna Meet Rachel * and Lorna. They are very different women, but they have one thing in common: they both used opioids. One morning, Rachel maneuvered her maroon Civic into a parking place at a local breakfast joint to buy opioids from her dealer. Accompanied by her two-year-old daughter and her brother,…
Read MoreHow We Force Hurricane Victims Into Withdrawal
Facing the Wrath of Hurricanes As of this writing, Hurricane Irma is about to invade Florida. It is reported to be a Category 5 storm. Many people are evacuating, while others cannot leave their homes and must prepare to shelter in place. The region will inevitably experience catastrophic effects, and this is on the heels…
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