Prescription Drug Monitoring Program May Not Cut Opioid Use
HealthDay News — Implementation of a mandatory prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) does not necessarily reduce the overall rate of opioid prescribing or the mean number of pills prescribed for patients undergoing general surgical procedures, according to a study published online Aug. 22 in JAMA Surgery.
Ryland S. Stucke, MD, from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., and colleagues conducted a prospective observational cohort study at an academic hospital among 1057 patients undergoing representative elective general surgical procedures from July 1, 2016, to June 30, 2017. Beginning Jan. 1, 2017, new state legislation mandated the use of a PDMP and opioid-risk assessment tool for all patients receiving an outpatient opioid prescription.
The researchers found that there was no significant reduction in the percentage of patients prescribed opioids after surgery before versus after the new requirements (80 vs 77%; P = 0.29). In the six months before the mandatory PDMP requirement, the mean number of opioid pills prescribed decreased from 30.8 to 24 (22.1%); in the 6 months after the legislation, the decrease was less, from 22.8 to 21.9 pills (3.9%). No high-risk patients who subsequently were not prescribed opioids were identified by the new requirements.
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Lets just make opiate medication for surgery, acute pain injury and ANY other use of opiate medication simply illegal and let people simply do the best they can with surgery, accidents requiring surgery, and all use of opiate medication illegal as if we do not have the scientific knowledge and necessary medication to manage pain. Would that satisfy dot/gov and the “experts” that wish to manage all pain acute and “chronic” pain with suboxene??????? What is the big argument about? That is what Kolodny, Frieden, and all the “experts” wish to do. Forget ANY cannabis research for pain management or ANY other substance that may help patients with lifetime, severe pain. ALL patients suffering with pain MUST be lying or better yet, we are just “weak”. WE all just want to get “high”. Constant, severe pain is just a lie. 20 MILLION people are lying about continuous, severe pain…..right JEFF??Lets all listen to Jeff. “Good” people don’t use cannabis or cannabis products simply because there is NO evidence (other than actual people testimony) that cannabis is a possible REAL natural pain management substance. Jeff should know with all the medical issues concerning pain that he has had to experience and suffer with. He is an “expert” in medical science. Or is he a lawyer that recuses himself from anything that he deems “harmful” to his beliefs. F J.