Drug Tests and Pain Contracts Violate Patient Rights

My Story: Drug Tests and Pain Contracts Violate Patient Rights – National Pain Report  – August 28th, 2014 by Arianne Grand Gassaway

My story with chronic pain began in 2010. I sustained two herniated discs in my neck in a tree cutting accident. My injury resulted in severe pain in my neck, with reduced range of motion, weakness and pain in my left arm and hand.

I declined spinal surgery or epidurals based on my research of the procedures and possible complications from them, which include infections, increased pain, loss of the ability to talk, additional nerve injury, and more.

I was able to cope effectively with the pain through the use of opiate drugs and muscle relaxants

In late 2012 I was told by my doctor that I would be required to submit to a random drug screen and sign what was referred to as a “pain contract.”

I was told that if I declined, I would no longer receive my medication.

Such coercion is unethical in any other area of medicine.  Doctors are deliberately withholding necessary medication to punish non-compliant patients.

I asked if I was being accused of something (because that is what it felt like) and was told that “there is a drug epidemic in our country” and that I needed to verify that I was using the drugs she prescribed. This contract also stipulated random pill counts and various other restrictions on pharmacies, etc.

I submitted to the drug test and signed the contract under threat of not receiving further treatment if I refused.

In my opinion, these policies and practices amount to coercion and to search and seizure without probable cause or due process. It is to me a very clear violation of patient rights, criminal law, and a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

When I was asked to submit to a second drug screen the following year, I refused and told my doctor that I felt it violated my rights. She said she was sorry I felt that way. I asked her what the results of the first drug test were, and she said it showed I was not using any illicit drugs and that I had levels of the drug she prescribed me.

Needless to say, I am no longer receiving treatment for my pain.

I contacted the ACLU and they refused to help. They told me that drug testing is a federal recommendation to combat the drug epidemic in our country and that these practices are now the national standard of care for treating pain patients.

Also, as there is no law requiring drug tests in my home state of California, the ACLU will not represent any individual in this matter.

(Editor’s note: the ACLU has filed a class action lawsuit against the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana for requiring physicians to have pain patients submit to mandatory drug testing.)

It is a travesty that patients with chronic pain are being treated like criminals, with the threat of being denied medical care if they refuse to give up their rights. Being forced to take drug tests and submit to random searches of medications only serves to marginalize patients seeking relief from painful illnesses and injuries.

I have decided not be silent and I am willing to stand up for those who feel that they can’t because I know how hard it is to fight a war when every day is already a struggle.

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ACLU Sues over Mandatory Drug Tests – National Pain Report  – January 10th, 2014 by Pat Anson, Editor

In one of the first lawsuits of its kind, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against the Medical Licensing Board of Indiana challenging the constitutionality of a new rule requiring some pain patients to submit to mandatory drug testing.

seeks a court order to prohibit the Licensing Board from requiring patients who receive certain levels of opioid pain medications to sign a “Treatment Agreement” that consents to drug testing at least once a year.

The Fourth Amendment protects all of us from government-mandated searches unless there is cause or justification. The mandatory drug testing simply goes too far,

The tests are required for patients taking more than 60 opioid containing pills a month or a morphine equivalent dose of more than 15 milligrams a day for more than three consecutive months.