painpolicy
co-analgesic
Prescription Monitoring Plans: A new JAMA Commentary!
In a JAMA commentary piece last week, Dr Gugelmann and Perrone discuss the role of Prescription Drug Monitoring (access required). They reference appropriately the nature of the problem of Prescription Opioid Abuse in the USA and highlight the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released in April 2011, and discussed here at the … Continue reading
Oncologists still not getting cancer pain management right!
In a 1993 ECOG Study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, Jamie Von Roenn and colleagues stated that US oncologists were not doing a very good job in treating cancer pain in the early 90s. This and other papers from ECOG, often under the leadership of Charlie Cleeland, were the impetus for efforts to improve … Continue reading
“Long-Term Opioid Therapy Reconsidered:” a look at an Annals paper
This just out from Annals of Internal Medicine today. Overall a good “idea and opinion” paper. Well worth reading. I wish the authors had defined that this applied for non palliative care pain management; even in palliative care we can get into long term opioid therapy. But much of what is written applies to all prescribing … Continue reading
“Back to School!” 3rd side of the triangle. LIFE before Death Film #12
Education is one of the three factors essential for a public health approach to improving access to opioids. “Without education, it doesn’t matter how much morphine you have in the country, it won’t get to the patients.” Joan Marston Serendipity came to play this morning with my WHO colleague, William Scholten, sharing this news from … Continue reading
Addiction or Dependency Syndrome? LIFE before Death Film #11
Mea culpa, mea culpa! There I am on camera using the term “addiction.” I will confess that I will probably continue to use the word addiction but between being interviewed for this film to its release,I participated on the committee “Ensuring Balance in National Policies on Controlled Substances, Guidance for Availability and Accessibility of Controlled … Continue reading
