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The CDC and FDA are trying to cut back opioids by 25% nation wide
Chronic Pain | Last Active: Dec 7, 2016 | Replies (27)Comment receiving replies
I am sure any number of statistics can be used to justify anyone's point of view and I am not trying to start any kind of argument, but the PRESCRIBING of opioids is cause for alarm and big pharma and individual doctors cannot be the source of attempts to control it. If we do not collect data we won't know squat!
See this link just for the increase in prescriptions for opioids. http://nationalpainreport.com/remarkable-increase-opioid-prescribing-u-s-8821689.html
Breaking the addiction to opioids is an immense undertaking, which is neither easy nor pain free. In my opinion the nation has to do something. It is wrecking havoc across America in rural areas, small towns, and large cities alike. It is a non-prejudicial attacker. Young, old, middle aged, white, black, native American, male, female.
Yes, regulation makes for a challenge, but then again we put up with regulation in our lives all over the place. We have to drive the speed limit, travel with a passport, show our drivers license every time we fly, we have to buy liquor only in certain places and at certain times, we must show our ID to buy a drink (if we are lucky enough to look young enough), and so we must adjust with opioids.
If your concern is privacy, I would suggest we are all at a far greater risk of privacy invasion by whatever Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc. are doing with, selling, reporting, etc. the data every time anyone types in 'opioid' in a web browser!
If you want a real-world view just go into your local police station or sheriff's office and talk with a Sargent or two. They will tell you what opioids are doing right in your own area. I did both and it really was eye opening and helped me adjust my thinking about the degree of this problem.
Just my two cents plain.
Replies to "I am sure any number of statistics can be used to justify anyone's point of view..."
As my wife's use was based on hospice care, I will gladly bow out of this discussion.
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Yes, the over-prescribing and overdosing are a public health emergency, as stated by the National Institutes of Health. I have seen that emergency first-hand, up close and personal (I am active in the healthcare field). And no, my concern is neither sound regulation nor privacy. In its attempt to address the public health emergency, the CDC's guidelines are so strict that people with chronic pain and a legitimate need for pain relief are left hurting.
I am determined to reverse the "one size fits all" policy of CDC (as to opioid prescribing) and the blanket policy against use of opioids for chronic pain. The CDC guidelines are ostensibly "voluntary" but have had a "chilling effect" on physicians who fear consequences for crossing those lines. Patients with chronic pain often do rely on opioids -- they are "dependent" not "addicted". The CDC guidelines are too restrictive for that vast majority of patients with chronic pain who are responsible and compliant patients ... patients who do not ask for increasing doses, do not abuse their prescriptions and are compliant with monitoring programs.
When a non-addictive and highly effective pain medication is available, we will all be better off.