Chronic pain patients (sometimes including Migraine sufferers) are often asked to sign narcotics contracts, or treatment agreements, with their doctors. These contracts lay down the rules for the doctor’s prescribing narcotic pain medications. They require that the patient submit to random or scheduled drug testing to determine if they are taking the proper amount of the drug. If you fail the test, these contracts allow the doctor to terminate your care.

Who do these contracts protect?

Doctors can get into big trouble for over-prescribing controlled substances, or helping people with addiction or substance abuse issues get them. These contracts are an attempt to limit doctor’s exposure to prosecution for misuse of controlled narcotics. Research shows that it’s not usually chronic pain patients who abuse narcotics. Pain medication is widely under-prescribed, and pain undertreated. Do these contracts help patients at all? There is certainly a danger to narcotic medications, and strictly controlling the prescriptions may help some patients to avoid problems. I don’t think the contract's main purpose is to protect patients, however. They do protect doctors, who are risking their professional standing if they prescribe narcotics without having a contract in place. Patients need doctors who are willing to treat them, so narcotics contracts may be a necessary evil...

Continue reading Migraines, Pain, and Narcotics Contracts.
 

© Megan Oltman, 2010

Last Updated March 30, 2010