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1/? I’ve been getting questions/ concerns lately, including yesterday at @ClevelandClinic, about the @CDCgov pain guidelines, and unintended impact on patients they were never intended for. Providers and hospitals, PLEASE read this article!
nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
nejm.org/doi/full/10.10…
2/? “Unfortunately, some policies and practices purportedly derived from the guideline have in fact been inconsistent with, and often go beyond, its recommendations.”
3/? A consensus panel highlighted these inconsistencies including inflexible application of recommended dosage/duration thresholds & policies encouraging hard limits & abrupt tapering of drug dosages, causing sudden opioid discontinuation or dismissal of patients from a practice.
3/? The panel also noted the potential for misapplication of the recommendations to populations outside the scope of the guideline, eg sickle cell crises, advanced cancer, & perioperative setting.
4/? Opioids are STILL being overprescribed and inappropriately prescribed to too many patients, and the @CDCgov guidelines are an important way to address this. BUT... we MUST NOT hurt some patients in the process by inappropriately applying the guidelines.
5/ Again, providers/ prescribers/ policy makers, PLEASE read the above article. We must ⬇️ inappropriate prescribing, but we CAN do this without hurting patients the guidelines were NEVER meant to apply to! 🙏🏽
