Today, chronic pain patients in the United States are required by the FDA to visit their doctor’s office every single month in order to obtain only a 30-day-supply of their pain medications. As our nation stands on the precipice of a pandemic, this presents a three-fold compounding problem :

1. This adds additional strain to our healthcare system.
2. Overcrowds doctor’s offices.
3. Exposes vulnerable patients with underlying medical problems to additional risk.

This is unnecessary. It’s an added risk not only for vulnerable patients, but for our healthcare system as a whole.

With the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, it’s absolutely vital we do everything possible to both limit exposure to the coronavirus, while minimizing strain on our overall healthcare system. 

We know that the coronavirus is most deadly for the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions. We know that anything we can do to minimize use of our healthcare system over the coming weeks is vitally important to our nation’s survival.

It is for this reason we are asking the US Food & Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control to announce a temporary measure, allowing chronic pain patients to receive at least three months worth of paper prescriptions at a single office visit.

This would be a simple, easy, rapid solution requiring no significant changes to insurance or existing infrastructure. If the patient is in good standing, their doctor can write additional prescriptions, one for each month. The patient can take these prescriptions to their pharmacist, who will save each month’s prescription in profile until it’s time to fill them, month by month, as normal. Simple. Easy. Effective. And possibly, life-saving. Not only by reducing our risk of exposure, but by freeing up our doctor’s time and capacity to focus on upcoming waves of coronavirus patients.

Please, help us minimize risk to those most in danger from COVID-19.

Please, help us proactively minimize the strain on our nation’s healthcare system. 

Help us rest easy, knowing chronic pain patients like us will still receive the care we need, without the added risk to our health and our very lives.

Yes, the opioid epidemic is important. But chronic pain patients are not the main drivers of this epidemic; A Cochrane* review of opioid prescribing for chronic pain found that less than 1% of those who were well-screened for drug problems developed new addictions during pain care. Multiple studies and reviews have produced similar statistics. 

All of that aside, however, the COVID-19 pandemic is a far more pressing threat, with more immediate life-threatening risks, on a national scale. As we have seen in recent weeks with Italy, we’re facing the very real possibility that our national healthcare system will soon be overwhelmed. 

As recently as last year, chronic pain patients were allowed to obtain three months worth of prescriptions at a single visit. All we’re asking for is a return to this sensible policy for compliant patients, at the discretion of their doctors, for the duration of the pandemic response.

Please, temporarily allow chronic pain patients and their doctors to take preventative measures by prescribing more than one month worth of maintenance medications at a time. Give us and our healthcare providers a chance to breathe.

As a chronic pain patient, I have been a compliant, stable patient for over 20 years. I suffer from two rare genetic diseases that cause constant, widespread, debilitating pain. I also have a compromised immune system. I am petrified of the coronavirus, terrified of the risk posed by stepping foot in my crowded doctor’s office, and scared I might not be able to get my pain medications at all. Without pain medication, my pain is so severe that my body goes into shock. That alone could cause me to occupy a hospital bed that might otherwise be needed during this pandemic. Please, help me - and countless others like me - at least alleviate some of these very real, and very pressing fears. 

Help all of us be more proactive in protecting ourselves and our nation during this difficult time.

Thank you!

* Source: https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/opioid-addiction-is-a-huge-problem-but-pain-prescriptions-are-not-the-cause/