Physician spouse speaks out against dangers of prescription opioids

The impact of the opioid crisis struck home within the Missouri physician community on Dec. 15, 2014. That’s the day when, just two months shy of his 30th birthday, Derek succumbed to an opioid overdose. The news was devastating for his mother, Kelly O’Leary, a longtime volunteer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society Alliance, and her husband Timothy O’Leary, MD, a radiation oncologist at Mercy Jefferson Hospital near St. Louis. Since then, Kelly has become an outspoken advocate against the prescribing of opioid painkillers. She has shared her story with Alliance audiences, various community groups and most recently to the Missouri Psychiatric Association. “He was a good kid. He was very smart, and didn’t want this to happen,” Kelly said. “His death was completely unnecessary.” By normal standards, Derek was well-accomplished for his age. He had graduated from college, earned an MBA, and served for five years in the U.S. Navy. He was engaged to be married. But, over the last 12 years, he had also struggled off and on with opioid addiction. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Patient Pain management Source Type: blogs