Posts Tagged With: Opioid therapy

Dr. Sharon Johnston comes to this Court having been convicted of a crime that does not exist, by a court without jurisdiction to enter a conviction, and affirmed by a court that did not confirm that it had jurisdiction to do so and – worse yet – blatantly attempted to “bury” its decision through depublication… This entire proceeding has been indelibly painted with the bright and unmistakable color of unconstitutional outcome-driven caprice.

I am republishing these “Principles of Opioid Management of Pain“, by Dr. Joel Hochman, et al., because of the explosion of deeply flawed and misguided “Guidelines” for pain management in recent years. This document stands alone in meeting the (textbook, ‘responsible physician’) standard for pain management while not violating core ethical obligations of the doctor-patient relationship and is useful, I think, for comparison when studying promulgated Guidelines. [See also: The Distortion of Medicine and Confusion of Standards]

Take a moment to scan one or two of these Highly Recommended documents… good background reading for any serious student of the war on docs and the pain crisis. A Critical Assessment of the Impact of Drug Testing Programs on the American Workplace is a good review of this important related drug war topic that is currently in the news (govt push to drug test high school students);
War on Drugs, War on Doctors, and the Pain Crisis in America — this is probably THE CORE document; if you only …

There are so many who need opioid pain medications and can not get them… These people have their lives destroyed every day as they drag themselves from doctor to doctor being lied to, verbally and sometimes physically abused, forced into unnecessary rounds of expensive testing… They are sneered at by pharmacists, called addicts by doctors, drug tested, called “frequent-flyers” and other derogatory names by emergency room nurses and doctors, denied reimbursement…

Unrelieved pain has a devastating impact on the physical, emotional, social, and economic well being of patients and their families. Diagnosing and treating pain is, therefore, fundamental to the public health. Terminology is review, myths identified, and medical understanding is stated.

I spoke to Billy’s wife briefly, recently, and am very happy to be able to report that Dr. Hurwitz is no longer in federal prison. He is currently in a half-way house in D.C. and will be transitioning to house arrest as part of his parole and probation requirements… He is in a sort of “titration to house arrest” best I understand it. Meaning, he is starting to get overnight visits with his family – YEA! – and more and more of that till he sort of “stabilizes” on a regimen of maintenance house arrest. (Is house arrest a substitution therapy for …

It seems to me an uncivilized and insane notion that just because someone in current moderate to severe pain had a history of an alcohol or drug problem, or even a current substance abuse problem, that you would deny them opioid therapy if that was the best medication to relieve their suffering. But this seems to be a point of confusion that increasingly comes up from patients, doctors, and regulators alike. So, in this post, let me make the medical standard of care in this situation perfectly clear. [...]

Academic quality, fully footnoted, article on why untreated or undertreated chronic pain is a medical emergency.

Press release from the Competitive Enterprise Institute regarding their Politics of Pain initiative, and video interviews with combat vet chronic pain patient James Fernandez, and with Dr. Alex DeLuca of the Pain Relief Network. CEI Calls for End to DEA Harassment of Pain Doctors.

Wichita Eagle article reporting on the release on bond of Dr. Stephen Schneider, Kansas family physician who cares for chronic pain patients.

On the off chance that people remain unconvinced that there is indeed a terrible pain crisis, I will offer some thoughts which might help shed light on this situation. The World Health Organization has said that undertreated pain is the number one health problem in America.

Network, protesting a scandalous article by the paper about PRN’s involvement in the Dr. Schneider case. Excerpt: “In our movement to reestablish rule of law and to normalize the doctor-patient relationship, we are constantly faced with desperate patients who ask us what do after they have been turned away from care dozens of times. I explained to the reporter that these people were once prosperous, had full lives, and dreams and hope. But merely by suffering a crushing accident or a cancer diagnosis, they find themselves in chronic severe pain and in need of ongoing opioid therapy. They then find …

Drug War Chronicle article about the persecution of Dr. Schneider, abuse of federal power, and what the Pain Relief Network is doing about it.

Chronic pain patient experience of abuse and neglect from a medical system distorted by drug war law enforcement imperatives placed on physicians.

Blog post about the case of U.S.A. v Dr. Rosa Martinez by Dr. Alexander DeLuca, defense medical expert. Case involves federal overreaching, and groundless charges that Dr. Martinez was drug criminal instead of the caring family doctor caring for her chronic pain patients entirely up to the medical standard of care for pain management.

Blog post excerpt: “Just to get the terminology and basic facts straight: cannabidiols are a family of similar molecules with similar pharmacological properties that differ somewhat from those of THC, which is not a cannabidiol. Both cannabidiols and THC are cannabinoids… Indica strains are higher in cannabidiols, and are historically more valued as medicinals than are Sativa strains.” Post links to a number of excellent articles in full text, mostly from academic medical journals.

Experience of chronic pain patient with gross undertreatment of pain, and substandard medical care in general, at the hands of VA medical providers.

Blog entry about the distortion of medical ethics and of medical practice of pain management using opioid therapy by drug war imperatives on physicians to value catching drug abusers over providing compassionate and rational medical care to their patients.

Blog post drawing attention to Radley Balko’s late August article on Fox website which is a very thorough review of this important case in the modern war on doctors. See the Rottschaefer archives linked to above for key legal briefs in addition to high points in the journalistic record. Links to archives on Dr. Hurwitz, Dr. McIver.

Blog post featuring link to Associated Press video of Siobhan Reynolds talking about the life and death of her husband Sean Greenwood in 2007. Footage is part of AP’s ‘World of Pain’ package released Aug 2007. This entry also provides links to 3 other videos featuring the PRN. 1: Siobhan, Ronan, Dr. Coles, Dr. Siegle on Mike and Juliet show (Fox); 2: James Fernandez, veteran, talks about his military career and life severely limited by undertreated chronic pain; and 3: The Chilling Effect – documentary by S. Reynolds about her family, and the family of Richard and Linda Paey.