Missourians please take a stand with me and Patients’ Advocates’ & Workmen’s Union for those battling chronic pain, whose quality of life has declined. Recently chronic-pain patients pleaded with a state Senate committee to eliminate “pre-determined” limits on prescription opioids they said threaten to leave them in unrelenting agony and contemplating suicide.

It’s our goal to get groundbreaking bills, similar to SB 546 on the ballot in Missouri; to get our elected officials to embrace this groundbreaking bill; and the CDCs new guidelines against ignoring the suffering of chronic pain patients... Aimed at protecting these patients and the doctors who treat them by allowing each provider to “administer care sufficient to treat a patient’s chronic pain based on ongoing, objective evaluations of the patient without fear of reprimand or discipline.”

In December, Human Rights Watch documented how some physicians were involuntarily reducing opioid medication dosages for chronic pain patients because they feared liability or scrutiny from law enforcement, state medical boards, and insurance providers. Patients’ physical and mental health declined as a result. Some could no longer do simple things like walk their dog or go to the toilet unassisted, while others felt socially isolated, suicidal, or turned to alcohol or illicit drugs.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) took an important step last week toward acknowledging the suffering of chronic pain patients in the United States who face unnecessary barriers to accessing opioid medications.

The CDC authors stated that their guideline was intended for patients new to opioids, not those who have been on them long-term and who benefit from them. They also noted that some patients may find weaning off opioids difficult.
The CDC is right to defend chronic pain patients against the unintended outcomes of its guideline. While reducing overprescribing is a laudable goal, it is important to acknowledge the collateral damage that has been done in pursuit of that effort.

But there’s still a long way to go. Many state laws, insurance companies, and pharmacies have policies that use the CDC’s previous guidelines to enforce dose or day limits on opioid prescriptions. 

The CDC took a big step in showing compassion for chronic pain patients. It’s time physicians, politicians, and policymakers across the US supported policies that did the same.

Those battling chronic pain and caregivers please visit www.paw-union.com