Pain management in crisis!Alicia Smith took her own life on March 16 because she couldn't stand the chronic pain any longer. (1) When federal agents arrested her physician, Dr. William Hurwitz, Alicia couldn't find anyone else willing to prescribe the large dose of opiates Opiates Analgesic, pain killing drugs, such as heroin and morphine that depress the central nervous system. Mentioned in: Withdrawal Syndromes she needed to survive. All over the country patients with chronic pain say they are having trouble finding adequate and proper medication. This is a public health catastrophe that cries out for reform. Because prescription medicine now ranks number two among drugs most abused by adults and young people, the federal government plans to dramatically ramp up Ramp Up To increase a company's operations in anticipation of increased demand. Notes: A company might 'ramp up' operations if they just signed a contract creating substantially more demand for their product. See also: Demand, Economies of Scale enforcement, ostensibly going after doctors who do not follow "sound medical practice". (2) Doctors have become so gun shy that the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a politically conservative association of physicians, medical professionals and students, patients and others,[1] founded in 1943. now advises its doctors not to prescribe opiates at all. (3) The medical profession itself is part of the problem. In medical school, doctors get little if any training in pain management, so they either under-medicate or avoid chronic pain patients altogether. Patients with legitimate need for heavy medication, victims--of cancer, bone disease, botched botch tr.v. botched, botch·ing, botch·es 1. To ruin through clumsiness. 2. To make or perform clumsily; bungle. 3. To repair or mend clumsily. n. 1. surgery, etc.--seek out those few doctors like William Hurwitz who are willing to help. This raises a red flag for law enforcement since these doctors seem to be prescribing heavy doses for too many patients. DEA DEA - Data Encryption Algorithm officials deny that their campaign has a chilling effect on physicians, saying they take action in only a few hundred cases a year. But the physicians don't see it that way. "It only takes one person to get guillotined for everyone to get the message, "says Robert Mills, spokesman for the AMA (Automatic Message Accounting) The recording and reporting of telephone calls within a telephone system. It includes the calling and called parties and start and stop times of the call. . (4) When chronic pain patients become desperate, they inevitably turn to the black market for additional medication, or they are forced to "game the system "by seeking duplicate prescriptions. Congress and the medical profession must work out a solution for the millions of Americans who are living with chronic pain and cannot obtain appropriate relief. Pain management specialists should be policed by other pain management specialists--not law enforcement officers. www.CommonSenseDrugPolicy.org www.DrugWarFacts.org Mike Gray, Chair; Robert Field, Co-Chair 717-299-0600 (1.) Not her real name. (2.) Office of National Drug Control Policy The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was established by the National Narcotics Leadership Act of 1988 (21 U.S.C.A. § 1501 et seq.) and began operations in January 1989. , 2004 Strategy Report. (3.) Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837–1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). Oct 20 03, "Painful Rift." (4.) Drug Enforcement Report, Dec 23, 2003, "DEA Addresses Complaint." |
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