Perspective: The problems with one-size-fits-all laws on opioid prescriptions
By Kate M. Nicholson and Laura Mills April 4 at 11:47 AM Presidential hopeful Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is the latest politician to make the mistake of backing a one-size-fits-all effort to reduce opioid prescribing. Last month, she announced a bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Cory Gardner , aimed at addressing the overdose crisis by limiting opioid prescriptions for acute pain to seven days.
The Gillibrand-Gardner bill is aimed solely at prescriptions for acute pain — such as pain following surgery — and exempts chronic-pain prescriptions from regulation . But patients and activists know that regulation in one area often has unwelcome spillover effects. And the line between chronic and acute pain is not cut and dried: Pain that is symptomatic of chronic illness is often first diagnosed as acute pain.
But those guidelines were voluntary and allow for provider discretion if a patient needs longer supplies or higher doses. Policymakers, in contrast, have translated those recommendations into absolute limits. Higginbotham’s story and that of others in the Human Rights Watch report raises serious questions about what is happening to the estimated 13 million chronic-pain patients who are on opioids long-term — a concern echoed in a letter by experts who called forced tapering of these drugs a “large-scale humanitarian issue.”
Even cancer patients, whom lawmakers invariably exempt from their rules, are being punished. At a recent nationwide American Medical Association meeting, outgoing president Barbara L. McAneny told a harrowing anecdote: After a pharmacist denied a prescription she had written for one of her cancer patients, incorrectly suspecting the patient was a drug seeker, the patient attempted suicide.
Today, overdose deaths are driven largely by illicit drugs such as fentanyl and heroin. And the deaths related to prescription opioids almost always involve multiple other substances — such as alcohol or illicit drugs — used in combination. We clearly need to look beyond prescription cutbacks if we want to solve this crisis.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Perspective | How to stop the opioid crisisIt's time to expose those who have profited from getting Americans addicted to opioids.
Read more »
Sizing Up Stocks’ Big First-Quarter RallyInvestors hoping for stocks’ rally to keep up the first quarter’s pace may be headed for a disappointment.
Read more »
Perspective | Baltimore deserves better than a one-star mayorThe outrage over the “Healthy Holly” book scandal is spilling out everywhere — even in Amazon customer reviews.
Read more »
![Xbox One Dolby Vision Problems: Vizio Gives Its Final Response [UPDATED]](https://i.headtopics.com/images/2019/4/5/forbes/xbox-one-dolby-vision-problems-vizio-gives-its-final-response-updated-1113913672043253762.webp?w=640)
Xbox One Dolby Vision Problems: Vizio Gives Its Final Response [UPDATED]And it’s a mixed outcome
Read more »
CVS expands same-day prescription delivery nationwideCVS is offering same-day delivery at most of its stores for $7.99 through a partnership with Shipt, a Target company, CVS announced Thursday.
Read more »
Simple ways to pay significantly less for your prescription drugsSometimes by skipping insurance and paying the ‘retail’ price, you’ll pay less.
Read more »
New York sues billionaire owners of prescription painkiller OxyContinNew York, which averages nine opioid-related deaths per day, says it's leaving 'no stone unturned.'
Read more »
Bernie Sanders Floats 50-Percent Cut On Prescription Drugs If ElectedSen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) vowed on Saturday that if his 2020 bid for thepresidency succeeds, he will slash prescription drug prices in half.During a Sunday appearance
Read more »