A Nation in Pain

This past week, Governor John Kasich of Ohio issued an executive order limiting the amount of opioids doctors and dentists can prescribe to no more than a 7 day supply. Failure to comply could result in disciplinary action, including loss of license. Exceptions exist only for patients with cancer or those enrolled in hospice programs. For all the rest, it represents a hard full stop. No longer will the chronic pain sufferer, the woman status post lumbar back fusion x 3, be able to get a prescription for a month's supply of oxycodone with 3 refills.On the surface this appears to be a reasonable initiative. We are undoubtedly in the midst of a true crisis in terms of opiate/opioid abuse in this country. It is a crisis that disproportionately affects the poor, the downtrodden, across large swaths of flyover rural America. Something must be done, any reasonable elected official would say. Over 50,000 Americans died last year as a result of an overdose. Overall life expectancy declined last year for the first time in nearly 30 years, a decline mainly attributable to middle aged males and females from lower economic and educational attainment strata dying sooner. Suicide and overdose have been targeted as culprits in this real "American carnage".But what I am uncomfortable with is the evolving narrative that the entire crisis was fomented by evil "pill mill" doctors lining their pockets with cash as their patients spiraled into desp...
Source: Buckeye Surgeon - Category: Surgery Authors: Source Type: blogs