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Results from a study conducted in the state of Michigan suggest that access to primary care could be reduced for patients taking prescription opioids.
The study results were published last week (July 13) in the Journal of American Medicine Network (JAMA) and indicate that unintended consequences such as talking with illicit substances or reducing the management of Other medical comorbidities could occur.
The main author is Pooja Lagisetty, MD from the University of Michigan. She and her team interviewed the primary care clinic accepted by both Medicaid and private insurance and made new appointments with a simulated audit method. The "simulated" patient was an adult suffering from chronic pain who was taking opioids in the long term.
The survey revealed that many chronic pain patients who use opioids and are seeking a new doctor already know that finding a doctor is becoming more and more difficult.
Citing news articles labeling these patients as "opioid refugees," the authors state that restrictions imposed by primary health care providers … "may leave patients with no possibility of slow reduction in the number of opioids; non-opioid treatment options "…
The study further indicates that the abandonment of this population could have unintended consequences, including "a potentially increased risk of suicide."
194 of the 219 eligible clinics were interviewed. 40.7% said outright that providers were not willing to provide care to new patients on opioids. 41.8% were willing to make a first appointment and 17% wanted more information.
The study caught our attention because of the number of readers who contacted the National Pain Report to find a new doctor.
We received this mail from an Atlanta woman via email this weekend.
Comment: I need to find a doctor specializing in pain management in Atlanta. Mine reduced my medications by one-third (others to come) and the pain that was managed for almost 20 years is back. Please help! Please.
For Richard "Red" Lawhern Ph.D., head of the Insolent Pain Alliance, the answer is to put more pressure on the state's health boards.
In an email addressed to one of the reporters who covered this study, Lawhern said, "I think this medical catastrophe is totally useless and that state medical advice must participate in the correction of the fake political stories that provoked these results. The so-called "war on drugs" has been transformed into a "war against pain patients and their doctors". This must change NOW, not next year!
If you have difficulty finding a pain doctor and would like to be quoted, please contact us by briefly explaining your experience via email to [email protected].
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