article re: pain lawsuit

[pcl]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51818-2001May6.html

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[electra]

My big interest is pain management, having had a parent die of metastatic cancer. I am pleased to discover that PM&R can get me to this career.

In the past, physicians have been held accountable every time narcotic medication was prescribed to make sure that no one in the family would be selling the product on the street. Perhaps this has been an issue for the physician or medical center.

However, no patient should ever go without concerns over pain being addressed. There is nothing which which depresses and debilitates people like pain. All health care workers need to put themselves in a patient's shoes. Check yourself when you have a migraine. Imagine living like that every moment of the day, wishing you could just kill yourself and get it over with.

let's do better.

electra

 

[lmthoms1]

that's ludacris.....I feel they are just looking to get rich.......don't they know that the physician job is to keep their patients out of much pain as possible...if he could've he would've. Here they are sueing like the physician WANTED the patient to suffer I just don't understand... one minute physicians are miracle workers then the next minute they dont work enough....oh well cant satisfy everyone-------That's a case just waiting to get thrown out

 

[HomerJ]

I think this article sheds light on a major problem the medical community has ignored for some time. Many physicians have the misconception that patients will get hooked on these drugs, even though studies have shown that less than 2% of patients treated with narcotics become addicted. There is also a concern that physicians will be prosecuted and/or lose their liscense because governing bodies claim that they are over prescribing. Also, pain is complex and it is hard to measure the severity of the pain other than from the patient's mouth.

Although I do not entirley agree with this lawsuit, it hopefully will draw attention to the problems of pain management. It is necessary to change attitudes and laws regarding the treatment of pain.

 

[Neurogirl]

Imthoms1,

You obviously haven't spent much time on the medicine wards. It is NOT uncommon to see physicians undertreat pain...even cancer pain. I personally saw it happen several times. Usually, I would just continue to "remind" the attending that the patient had poor pain control and was requesting additional or different meds. Sometimes the physician would give in and sometimes they wouldn't...depended on the situation and the physician. It's not that docs actually WANT patients to suffer, although I do know of one internist who believes that pain is part of disease and refuses to give anything stronger than lortab (the local hospice doc had to threaten to exclude his patients from care before he would agree to allow stronger meds). It usually happens because physicians are afraid of addiction or of suppressing respiratory function. But if that is the case then they should enlist the help of a PM physician and not just ignore the situation as many do.

 

[lmthoms1]

Originally posted by Neurogirl:
•Imthoms1,

You obviously haven't spent much time on the medicine wards. It is NOT uncommon to see physicians undertreat pain...even cancer pain. I personally saw it happen several times. Usually, I would just continue to "remind" the attending that the patient had poor pain control and was requesting additional or different meds. Sometimes the physician would give in and sometimes they wouldn't...depended on the situation and the physician. It's not that docs actually WANT patients to suffer, although I do know of one internist who believes that pain is part of disease and refuses to give anything stronger than lortab (the local hospice doc had to threaten to exclude his patients from care before he would agree to allow stronger meds). It usually happens because physicians are afraid of addiction or of suppressing respiratory function. But if that is the case then they should enlist the help of a PM physician and not just ignore the situation as many do.•

I'm just an undergrad............I'm learning I'm learning

 

[Dreamer]

I completely agree that Pm should be adequate. But the problem is that not everybody understands it. They passed constitutional amendment here in Oregon, allowing physicians assisted suicide. It is not about PM, but Congress is revweing a bill now prohibiting physicians to prescribe pain killers in dosage that would allow patien to commit a suicide. They do not understand or do not want to that it is virtually impossible to draw the clear line. Until this line is legally defined and if they pass the bill can you imagine what can happen with Pain Managment. The patient thinks his treatment is insufficient and you guys are looking for medical malpractice attorney to defend you.

My point is PM in that case wasn't sufficient but I would prefer not to see this lawsuit, for its too vague line between sufficient and insufficient and FDA can jump to investigate misuse of narcotics anytime.