Thread by @hope411adcock

Unintended Harm from Opioid Prescribing Guidelines (Post 2007 WA State)

"How will this guideline impact legitimate care to pain patients throughout the country? It is possible its influence could spread if it comes to be seen as a precedent."

watermark.silverchair.com/10-2-285.pdf?t…

2)"If the dose limit were widely adopted, physicians could carry additional burdens. More physicians and other prescribing clinicians are likely to simply reduce their opioid prescribing rather than risk increased scrutiny under a system in which the rules are untested and the

3) potential penalties unclear.

Sadly, the widespread acceptance of such questionable policy could lead to more untreated pain, increased incentive for doctor shopping, and diversion.

All this highlights a disturbing trend in the development of regulatory policy concerning

4) opioid prescribing: first, an outcry goes up to encourage practitioner engagement in the solving of a newly identified public health crisis. Next, clinicians, who were never properly educated to optimally treat the condition, accept the call to help resolve the public health

5)crisis.

When problems in the ensuing care arise, regulators act to stop further problems, often without concern for the collateral impact on appropriate care for legitimate patients.

6)The planning for education and training to address the problem is absent, and care is discouraged whether intentionally or not."