Thread by @StefanKertesz

1/Suicides that follow prescription opioid reduction are a tragedy we need to discuss openly, and mainstream reporters almost never do.

This article by @DrewQJoseph is commendable.

Our work to learn from families who have suffered these losses is linked in the next tweet

https://twitter.com/national_pain/status/1462791675793784841

2/Our team at @UABNews has been running a preliminary version of a larger planned study, a survey to reach family survivors to learn about these tragedies one by one, like safety investigators would an airplane crash. We think that is the place to start. It is called CSI:OPIOIDs

3/As a clinician, I have been advocating to address these losses since 2016.

In 2018, I began urging federal study of the individual suicides, because large database statistics, concerning as they are, don’t reveal the circumstances around losses. We have to look closely.

4/Urging that we study the individual deaths, which felt imperative to me, drew pushback as it cut against advocacy & stories on prior excess prescribing

In this 2018 Lown Conference video, you will see me contending with that pushback at minute 27-38:

5/In that conference, Dr Adriane Fugh Berman argued there was insufficient basis for a public agency to study the suicides

I was truly surprised to hear that.

(Her identity was masked in the edit out of respect for the conference hosts, but after 3 years, seems unnecessary)

6/We began with, & are continuing, a pilot study to establish contact with families who have suffered the loss. We are a team of suicide, pain and health service researchers including Dr Thomas Joiner of FSU. @AllysonVarley @speakingabtpain @AJ_Gordon @BethDarnall & of course, me

7/Over the coming year, we will be expanding this work to allow us to engage the families more deeply and to learn their stories, to learn what really happened, and to provide recommendations to policymakers. Please follow us to learn more as we develop this

8/The single most troubling aspect of these suicides, to me at least, is that they are still draped in secrecy.

We can only address this threat to safety of patients if we speak openly and ask questions without prejudging the answers.

Thanks @DrewQJoseph & @statnews /fin