Pain Topics
Which Drugs Do You Consider “Safe?”
Ten drugs that were removed from the market due to safety concerns over the last 30 years. It is interesting, and perhaps surprising, that four of them were anti-inflammatory drugs because most people presume these drugs are relatively safe.
Read MoreAre Prescribed Opioids the Culprits or the Scapegoats?
Solving the drug crisis will not be easy. However, the disenfranchised members of our most impoverished communities deserve viable solutions to their problems. It is crucial to understand the degree to which job loss and hopelessness contribute to the drug problem. Reputable data proves that the volume of opioids prescribed is not solely, or even primarily, responsible for the opioid crisis. Let’s be sure we are not using prescription opioids as the scapegoat.
Read MoreEmpathy Must Be Included in Pain Management Education
The National Institutes for Health (NIH) has published a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks input from “stakeholders throughout the scientific research and medical education community and the general public regarding the Centers for Excellence in Pain Education (CoEPEs) educational content regarding treating pain and opioid misuse or use disorder.”
Read MoreAddiction and the 2020 Presidential Race
The ideal presidential candidate should recognize the tragedies associated with all addictions, not just with prescription opioids.
Read MoreMan Trapped in a Billboard
It’s understandable that an advertising agency would have trouble accurately conveying the problems of drug dependence and addiction when the media, too, often has difficulty communicating the facts.
Read MoreTeaching Children to Cope with Pain
It’s important to help children master their response to pain in age-appropriate ways. Children who have the emotional and cognitive ability to understand and determine their response to an injury generally suffer less. This is self-efficacy, and it allows the child to feel in control.
Read MoreWho Is to Blame for Skyrocketing Drug Prices?
This article, in a slightly edited form, first appeared in The Hill on July 27, 2017. Drug Prices Are Soaring Across the board, drug prices are soaring. Even the cost of cancer medications are so high that some patients are delaying cancer treatments or skipping them altogether. But who is most responsible for higher drug prices: pharmaceutical…
Read MoreHonoring Our Veterans on Memorial Day
Those statistics are difficult to read anytime, but they seem especially troubling as the United States commemorates Memorial Day. This is the time for us to acknowledge that those who have served our country deserve the best medical care available.
Read MoreIs Fentanyl a Weapon of Mass Destruction?
However, before we classify the chemical fentanyl as a WMD, we need to know what that would mean for its legitimate use during surgery, or for cancer and chronic pain patients. Access to the medication for the treatment of pain must be part of the calculus in assessing if a relatively safe and effective drug should be classified as a WMD.
Read MoreOregon’s Proposed Tapering Policy Is Still Undecided
Forced Tapering Proposal On March 14, 2019, the Oregon Health Authority Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC) had planned to vote on a proposal that could affect thousands of Medicaid patients in Oregon. The proposal would limit Medicaid coverage of opioids to 90 days for chronic pain patients. Those who have been using opioids for more…
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