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Abandonment of the patient
Patients no longer have access to opioids. Nearly 9 in 10 patients report problems finding a doctor willing to treat them. Many say they have been fired or abandoned by a doctor or have had problems with a pharmacy or insurer. Only a small percentage of patients were referred to addiction treatment.
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73% of patients say it's harder to find a doctor
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15% unable to find a doctor
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34% abandoned or released by a doctor
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27% of insurers refused to pay for pain treatment
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27% of pharmacies refused to fill an opioid prescription
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5% were referred to addiction treatment
"As an AI in pain management, I have seen a decline in quality of life, an increase in pain and anxiety in patients. Providers fear for their license and livelihood. My staff spends hours on the phone trying to authorize the scripts, "wrote a nurse.
"Most doctors in our area refuse to prescribe opioids, even doctors in pain management. This forces some patients to buy illicit drugs, "said a primary care physician.
Desperate measures
The widespread denial of care has led many patients to take desperate measures to relieve pain. One in five stores opioid medications because they fear losing access to these medications. Many others use alcohol, marijuana or kratom, an herbal supplement, to relieve pain. A small percentage use illicit drugs. Few people have found effective medical treatments, as well as prescription opioids.
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22% of patients accumulate opioids
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11% obtained opioids from family, friends or the black market
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26% used marijuana for medical purposes to relieve pain
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20% used alcohol to relieve pain
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20% used kratom to relieve pain
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4% used illicit drugs (heroin, fentanyl, etc.) to relieve pain
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2% found other treatments that work as well or better than Rx opioids
"I personally know seven people who went to the streets for pain relief. Four of them died because they were mixed with fentanyl. Two committed suicide, "said one patient.
"Since my doctor has stopped prescribing even my small amount of opioids, I am facing days where I can not even get up from bed because I have too much pain and that I am forced to take alcohol, excessive amounts of acetaminophen and NSAIDs, "the patient wrote. "Kratom was the most serious thing that helped my pain."
"I have been without a prescription for two years and I take medicine on the street. I can not afford it and I have no criminal history. I tried heroin for the first time in my life, out of desperation and thanks to God, I did not like it. It was stronger than anything I needed to relieve pain, "wrote another patient.
Drug addiction and overdoses continue to increase
Although the recommendations appear to have significantly reduced the dose and quantity of opioid prescriptions, the vast majority of patients and providers believe that it has not been successful in reducing opioid dependence and overdoses. Nearly 49,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose in 2017, but more than half of the deaths involved illicit fentanyl or heroin, and not opioids of any kind. order.
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