6 ms·

Those practices (handing out oxy) are a major contributor to the current epidemic, if not the root cause. I've gotten opiate prescriptions I had no business ha

by nxc18 9y ago

Those practices (handing out oxy) are a major contributor to the current epidemic, if not the root cause. I've gotten opiate prescriptions I had no business having without asking. I get that some people need pain medication or will suffer, but there's a whole lot of suffering that opiate addiction causes and that is not really factored into the 'do no harm' calculation doctors are supposed to be doing. It really is a great thing to see legitimate restrictions on these prescriptions, as that should cut down on new addicts at the very least.

thearn4 9y ago
I guess part of this is doctors overprescribing to prevent patient complaints, based on how much patient satisfaction surveys are used to rate their year over year performance. I don't know if its the AMA to blame for that or not, but everyone in the system seems to think its an upstream problem.
pkaye 9y ago
I'm hearing on the one side that these legal prescriptions are causing the problems but on the other had others say that these drugs being illegal is causing the problem and if we made them legal that people will use them in a safe manner. If people get addicted them when prescribed legally then how can making them legal have any hope?
- nostrademons 9y ago
  Making them legal at least keeps the problem out in the open, where it can be regulated. Notice that the response to the opioid epidemic, as described in this thread, is that clinics have stopped giving out oxycontin. When we had a crack epidemic in the 80s or a heroin epidemic in the 60s and 70s, the response was to send troops into the regions that produced those drugs. This was both expensive and ineffective, and in many ways just made the problem worse: with the whole distribution chain being completely illegal, street prices went up, more money was made by a few outlaw kingpins, and that gave them more resources to buy arms and escalate violence.
  - pkaye 9y ago
    These are highly addictive substances. If doctors can't stop the abuse now on prescribed medicines who in the regulatory agencies can do better?

by nxc18 9y ago

thearn4 9y ago

I guess part of this is doctors overprescribing to prevent patient complaints, based on how much patient satisfaction surveys are used to rate their year over year performance. I don't know if its the AMA to blame for that or not, but everyone in the system seems to think its an upstream problem.

pkaye 9y ago

I'm hearing on the one side that these legal prescriptions are causing the problems but on the other had others say that these drugs being illegal is causing the problem and if we made them legal that people will use them in a safe manner. If people get addicted them when prescribed legally then how can making them legal have any hope?

nostrademons 9y ago
Making them legal at least keeps the problem out in the open, where it can be regulated. Notice that the response to the opioid epidemic, as described in this thread, is that clinics have stopped giving out oxycontin. When we had a crack epidemic in the 80s or a heroin epidemic in the 60s and 70s, the response was to send troops into the regions that produced those drugs. This was both expensive and ineffective, and in many ways just made the problem worse: with the whole distribution chain being completely illegal, street prices went up, more money was made by a few outlaw kingpins, and that gave them more resources to buy arms and escalate violence.
- pkaye 9y ago
  These are highly addictive substances. If doctors can't stop the abuse now on prescribed medicines who in the regulatory agencies can do better?