Response to Newsday’s “Doctors Drop Patients on Painkillers Amid Federal Opioid Scrutiny”
Last week Newsday ran a story titled, Doctors Drop Patients on Painkillers Amid Federal Opioid Scrutiny, which argued that patients on opioid medication for pain relief are being “abandoned” by doctors as government scrutiny of prescriptions is leading an increasing number of physicians to stop prescribing opioids.
After reading the article, I submitted the following response to Newsday, which ran online and in the paper on Wednesday:
We have made great strides in reducing unnecessary opioid prescriptions in New York and across the country. However, efforts to address one problem can create a new one [“More patients on pain meds ‘dumped’ by their doctors,” News, Sept. 25].
The threat of sanctions from federal and state criminal authorities — not to mention state disciplinary authorities — has intimidated many physicians from prescribing opioids for their patients, even when their clinical judgment is that opioids are the most appropriate therapy for treating pain.
For example, the article says that Dr. Edward Rubin was investigated, and the authorities found no improper prescriptions. But such experiences leave a chilling effect on physicians like Rubin in evaluating and recommending the most appropriate options for patients.
We hope patients who need those very medications understand why so many physicians are often hesitant to write opioid prescriptions. Each such prescription could mean the end of their professional career.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s revisions to the pain guidelines in 2022 is a good first step, but it doesn’t go far enough. As physicians, our first and most important goal is to ensure the health and well-being of our patients. That will not happen if physicians can’t present patients with the best treatment options.
— Dr. Paul A. Pipia, Syosset
The writer is president of the Medical Society of the State of New York in Westbury.
Paul A. Pipia, MD
MSSNY President
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