Family Medicine and the “New” Opioid Epidemic

[摘要] The opioid crisis is America’s Ebola. Often fatal, complicated, with multiple ramifications that go beyond just medicine to the core of our culture. Clinicians’ response to pharma promotions and pain as the fifth vital sign is part of that culture. The complicity of pharma is being adjudicated in the courts. Solutions to this problem have been evolving quickly as a new urgency has erupted in response to the magnitude of the death rates. And as we explore solutions to this “new” epidemic, we see that solutions for one thing can cause problems for another. In this example, we find that those who believe that they need and thus should have access to chronic opioids are having trouble getting them. We also find that many of these patients have not had appropriate trials to reduce dosages or try alternate modes of therapy. Furthermore, the current climate has increased the fear that clinicians feel when “confronted” by a patient in pain. We need research to create the evidence that will yield best practices.

[学科分类] 过敏症与临床免疫学