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Please Send the FDA Your Comments

New Opioid Policy Steering Committee

On September 29 of this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a notice — Opioid Policy Steering Committee; Establishment of a Public Docket; Request for Comments — in the Federal Register, The Daily Journal of the United States Government.

The FDA is seeking comments from members of the public, including chronic pain patients and their families, healthcare professionals, academic institutions, and industry relative to the FDA’s new Opioid Policy Steering Committee (OPSC).

FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. has expressed his commitment to confronting the opioid crisis and reducing the possibility of opioid addiction. He established the OPSC, and charged the committee with seeking input from the public.

The Tribune was wrong. Medicine often involves a risk to the patient.

Please note: This version of the blog originally appeared as an op-ed in the Salt Lake City Tribune on December 10, 2017.

The Tribune was wrong. Medicine often involves a risk to the patient.

The Salt Lake Tribune published an editorial on Sunday Nov 12, 2017, “Medical professionals need to play a role in opioid crisis.” The first line reads, “First do no harm.” According to the editorial, physicians who prescribe opioids to treat pain patients may be violating the Hippocratic Oath, because “a doctor’s first concern is to not do anything to make things worse.”

Digital Pills and Other Medical Adherence Technology

The Future of Medicine

The future of medicine may have arrived, and it has its benefits — but it might also create an Orwellian, Big Brother culture.

All medical developments are meant to solve a problem. It is estimated that as often as 80% of the time, patients fail to use medication as directed for some diseases. According to The Atlantic, nonadherence (or noncompliance), in general, costs Americans between $100 billion to $289 billion a year. That has led to considerable research focusing on how to improve patients’ compliance.

The DEA Raids the Offices of My Friend and Colleague, Dr. Tennant

DEA Raids Offices of a Prominent Pain Physician

According to Pain News Network, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has conducted a raid on the offices of Dr. Forest Tennant, “confiscating all of his patient records, appointment books and financial documents.”

A prominent California-based pain physician, Dr. Tennant is a valued friend and colleague. Unfortunately, I know what he is going through. It happened to me, too.

A DEA Raid on Another Pain Specialist’s Offices

I tell the whole story in my book, The Painful Truth, but here’s the abbreviated version. On Friday, August 27, 2010, nine men and women — some carrying guns, and all wearing black jackets emblazoned with either “DEA” or “POLICE” — trooped, unannounced, into the Lifetree Clinic’s offices. It was a raid.

How Do You Know If You Are Addicted?

Babies Can’t Be Addicted

“Babies Born Addicted,” “Addicted Babies,” “Babies with Addiction,” and similar headlines appear nearly daily in the media. This is because babies exhibit horrible withdrawal symptoms if they are born physically dependent on opioids, and it pulls at our heartstrings to see them suffer. But it misleads media consumers, policymakers, and family members into believing the newborns are addicted. They confuse signs of withdrawal with opioid addiction.

Silence Is Acceptance

I like a million other people who have commented on your blog live with debilitating chronic pain each and every day…… I wanted to know from you is there a place where we chronic pain sufferers can go to plead our cases, to be heard? Is there a way we can get our word out? Is there anyone that will listen to us? A politician, a news agency? anyone you can lead us to?

This is an excerpt from a comment that was recently posted on my blog.

What the CDC Can Learn From Utah

Opioid Overdoses Increase Despite CDC’s Efforts

Everyone can agree on a few things. First, we have an opioid epidemic. Second, we want to mitigate it. Third, the efforts we’ve seen at the national level to ameliorate the crisis are not working.

As USA Today recently reported, the opioid epidemic is getting worse instead of better. Two top-level public officials — Dr. Debra Houry, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health — agree that whatever we’re doing to fix the epidemic doesn’t seem to be working. The amount of opioids prescribed has been declining for 5 years, but the number of overdoses has been increasing. So why are we not making progress?

Do Opioids Impact Life Expectancy?

Meet Rachel and Lorna

Meet Rachel ^* and Lorna. They are very different women, but they have one thing in common: they both used opioids.

One morning, Rachel maneuvered her maroon Civic into a parking place at a local breakfast joint to buy opioids from her dealer. Accompanied by her two-year-old daughter and her brother, she had never felt more like a criminal. While Rachel never turned to heroin or other street drugs, she used prescription opioids for non medical reasons.

How We Force Hurricane Victims Into Withdrawal

Facing the Wrath of Hurricanes

As of this writing, Hurricane Irma is about to invade Florida. It is reported to be a Category 5 storm. Many people are evacuating, while others cannot leave their homes and must prepare to shelter in place. The region will inevitably experience catastrophic effects, and this is on the heels of the devastating Hurricane Harvey that struck Texas.

Twenty Questions to Ask Political Candidates

Preparing for Election Season

The United States is approaching a new election season. Most people are aware of the opioid crisis and the imperative to solve it. As voters, we are tasked with choosing the people who can make a positive difference.

Now is the time to evaluate the ability of each candidate’s potential contribution to solving the opioid crisis while also recognizing the needs of people in pain. A review of each candidate’s statements, websites, and social media pages should help us make the best possible choices. It is not a time to be partisan and vote for your favorite political party. It rests with us to assess each candidate’s knowledge of the facts and determine who is most likely to offer constructive ideas.

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