Chronic Pain Patients Shouldn’t Have Opioids Abruptly Tapered, Says New Guidance : Shots – Health News : NPR – Oct 2019 – Heard on All Things Considered
In the haste to address the epidemic, there’s been pressure on doctors to reduce prescriptions of these drugs — and in fact prescriptions are declining. But along the way, some chronic pain patients have been forced to rapidly taper or discontinue the drugs altogether.
Now, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a new message for doctors: Abrupt changes to a patient’s opioid prescription could harm them.
Adm. Brett P. Giroir, MD, assistant secretary for health for HHS. “If opioids are going to be reduced in a chronic patient it really needs to be done in a patient-centered, compassionate, guided way.”
I’m so glad they say “if” instead of “when”. Continue reading