The federal government has declared, through its major health policy agencies, that the number of pain patients on opioids and the dosages they are on should be severely restricted. The Center for Disease Control (CDC), Veteran’s Administration (VA) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have all issued new guidelines within the past year to that effect. Private insurers are following suit, in many cases refusing to pay for …
In March, 2016, the CDC released guidelines for prescribing opioids. The guidelines were a response to a serious and growing problem: millions of pain patients became addicted to prescribed opioids, and hundreds of thousands died as a result.
Since the guidelines were released, reports of pain patients being abruptly cut off of their medication or having their medication abruptly reduced have become rampant. These patients report they were using opioids long …
It’s an unmitigated disaster. One hundred million pain patients. Millions addicted to opioids, hundreds of thousands dead. Pain patients abruptly cut off medication they’ve depended on, sometimes for decades, and offered nothing to replace it. Doctors, fearful of prosecution for overprescribing, dropping pain patients like hot potatoes. Pain patients unable to find any doctor that will treat them. Patients turning to heroin when they can’t get their prescription painkillers. Articles …
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