Doctors Collecting Bonuses

That’s right!  There are doctors collecting bonuses for pushing opioids.  In 2015 more than 33,000 Americans were killed by opioids and nearly half of those involved a prescription for the drugs.  The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that 91 Americans die from an opioid overdose and are still rising, easily quadrupling since 2015.  You would think these would be prescribed sparingly for only the most severe cases of pain and where there are no other options available.

Milder cases of chronic pain, such as from osteoarthritis or back pain, are being widely prescribed.  Heart disease and cancer deaths have decreased but the death rate associated with opioid pain medication has increased markedly.  Even through this shocking time the pharmaceutical industry is still making payments to physicians to prescribe more opioid products.  This is according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

Using the Open Payments Program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services it has been revealed that opioid-related payments to physicians between August 2013 and December 2015 (375,000 non-research)  payments were made to 68,000 physicians and totaled more than $46 million.  This equates to 1 in every 12 U.S. physicians collecting money from drug companies producing prescription opioids.

The drug fentanyl, which is from 500 to 1,000 percent more potent than morphine, was associated with the highest payments to the top 1% of physicians receiving nearly 83% of the payments.  Family physicians received the most payments, which is an indicator that opioids are being really heavily marketed for pain, according to Dr. Scott Hadland, the study’s author, as reported to The Washington Post.

A Harvard study explains that the overprescription of opioids was, and continues to be, a fundamental cause of the opioid epidemic.  They suggest the surge in prescriptions can be traced back to the widespread prevalence, and undertreatment, of chronic pain.  Americans struggle with unaddressed chronic pain but most doctors are ill-equipped to treat it.

President Trump has declared the opioid epidemic a public health emergency on a federal level and taxpayer funds will now be paying drug companies to fight epidemics that they created.

Often the opioids are prescribed to treat post-surgery pain, but instead of individualizing prescriptions according to a patient’s need, some surgeons use a one-size-fits-all approach.  JAMA reported the study reveals 67% to 92% of patients report having unused opioids after their surgical procedures.  Montgomery County, Ohio is estimating that 800 people are expected to die in 2017 due to black market opioid overdoses.  This more than doubles last year’s number.  Opioid deaths, in general, may be underreported, according to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

There are safer options for overcoming chronic pain. Please check with your alternative provider first, but some of these include astaxanthin, ginger, curcumin, boswellia, bromelain, cetyl myristoleate, evening primrose, black currant, borage oils and cayenne cream.  Other options are to start taking a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat like krill oil, reduce your intake of most processed foods, eliminate or reduce most grains and sugars and optimize your production of vitamin D.  For ongoing pain-relief, methods which may be an option include chiropractic adjustments, massage or acupuncture.

Dr Fredda Branyon