By Phil Riske | Senior Reporter/Writer
From the Rose Law Group Growlery
(Editor’s note: Opinion pieces are published for discussions purposes only.)
“. . . [I] will, according to my ability and judgment, prescribe a regimen for the health of the sick; but I will utterly reject harm and mischief.”
~ From the Hippocratic Oath
Yes, opoid abuse is a serious problem — in many cases, a cause of death.
Yes, opiod abuse is a result of overprescribing on the part of physicians.
Yes, opiods are also trafficked illegally.
But opiods are valuable in the treatment of pain. (A physician once told me opiods don’t really kill pain, you just don’t give a damn about it.)
So, how do we deal with this painkiller scourge?
Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont this week proposed limits on the number of painkillers that could be prescribed to combat the opioid crisis in his state.
Under the proposal, the severity and duration of pain would be used to determine the specific limit for a prescription of opioids. For example, for a minor procedure producing moderate pain, a provider would be limited to prescribing nine to 12 opioid painkiller pills, depending on the medication. The limits would be higher for more complicated procedures, and there would be exceptions for the treatment of severe pain.
Vermont’s proposals seem fairly reasonable, especially regarding considerations for acute pain, such as with cancer. But there’s a problem with it and other similar suggestions:
It’s the government practicing medicine. It’s more knee-jerk meddling by government in areas where it isn’t welcomed, most notably in women’s health.
It is mostly up to medical practitioners to prevent opiod abuse, per this line in the Hippocratic Oath:
“I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures which are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism.”
And it is up to each and every one of us to encourage people with drug problems to seek help. It’s out there.
