Is the DEA targeting docs who prescribe pain meds to make up for the agency’s past failures? Critics of the agency’s recent crackdown think so, according to a May 19 article in Medical Economics.
“‘If the battles you’re fighting are being lost, then, to win the war, find battles that you can win,’ says David Brushwood, a professor of pharmacy health care administration at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and a critic of government narcotics policy. ‘Doctors are more conspicuous and easier to find than drug dealers, and, besides, they don’t have guns and they don’t shoot back.'”
The six-page article is written for health care professionals, but it is a concise explanation of the problems that doctors face in prescribing pain meds. The recommendations it gives docs to follow when prescribing pain meds can be helpful for patients to understand how to help the doctor function within the system, thus potentially lessening the struggle to get adequate pain relief.
Pain and the Law, a website dedicated to helping health care professionals understand how to work within the law, is linked to from the Medical Economics article and is worth perusing. The site recommends these pain links for patients.
This previous blog post describes a detailed educational document on the DEA’s stance on pain meds.
I suffer from chronic pain for 20 yrs after having 26 surgeries and now Degenerative Disc Disease Wich is very severe with discs building into my spine,,,people who are in real pain are being punished because people abuse it. Doctors should not target elderly patients who need their pain medication.These doctors have to fight back for their patients,, yes people do abuse their medications but for those who don’t it is very unfair to leave them suffering! Shame on these doctors who won’t fight back for their patients right to be pain free. Patients who need their pain med school are only addicted to the Relief they get from them! Doctors need to understand this and do what’s best for their patients who suffer. Again,,where can you find a doctor these days who aren’t afraid to provide their patients with pain relief.This is so sad! This is why people sometimes look to the streets for pain relief,,,this is what they need to think about. If their is legitimate proof someone is suffering from chronic pain then they need to help with pain relief and not leave someone suffer day in and day out,,this makes people very depressed to the point of sometimes just giving up because the pain is Soo bad! These doctors need to get together and fight back for their patients Welfare.
The cowards and sociopaths of the DEA have created a police state of medicine. These right wing lunatics are creating an atmosphere where thousands suffer unnecessarily.Doctors and advocacy groups need to fight back.