There have been reports that some
practices have a zero tolerance for certain behaviors that cause concern. Lost
prescriptions may be seen as a "red flag" and treated as a breach of the
"physician/patient" relationship. This may be considered an infraction of your
pain care agreement or "opioid contract"; you might have been expected to... Read more
Unfortunately, we face a very difficult situation when medications are lost or stolen.
Controlled substances, particularly opioids for pain management, have
come under heavy scrutiny over the past few years due to unfavorable media
reports, heavy-handed law enforcement attempting to crack down on the illegal
diversion of pain medications and... Read more
There were a great many responses to my story about the fellow who had his opioid pain medicines stolen and the problems he had after that getting a physician to help him. One quick lesson in this situation is for people to be very careful about storing these medicines. Keep them out of sight and in a secure location. The fact is that opioid... Read more
Have you taken action yet? You know the old saying that goes something like, "If you are not part of the solution, then you're part of the problem." There are three Pain Bills in Congress now: The National Pain Care Policy Act of 2007 (H.R.2994), the Veterans Pain Act of 2007 (S.2160), and the just introduced (by... Read more