Getting Off Easy
According to a study published in the journal Pain Medicine as reported in the NYT, approximately 0.1 percent of pain physicians ever face punishment or sanction for prescribing narcotics. To boot, just 3% of these actually specialized in pain control.
What to conclude from this? According to Myra Christopher, president of the Center for Practical Bioethics, how to separate the "facts from the folklore" regarding patient care, pain management, and prosecutions.
It would seem for all the examples of "Dr. Feelscared" aside that the problem of doctors too scared to give out narcotics to their patients, whether the drugs are necessary or unnecessary, would seem to be unjustified.
Summer Johnson, PhD
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I have just had some major surgery causing great pain. Luckily for me the physician was not afraid to medicate according to my pain needs and not what the PDR (Physicians Desk Reference) recommends. As soon as my pain was tolerable with out pain medication I was able to stop, no addiction problem. Unfortunately, other medical staff were concerned about the pain medication I had to choose from and how long it was available. I can only hope my Doctor is one of a growing number learning to listen to the patient, and not some piece of paper or fear of reprisal.
- by Ann Lormand-Koch on Sep 24, 2008 at 2:44 PM | link