Apologies in advance for the poorly worded title, I'm not exactly sure how best to phrase this.
I'm a 3rd year medical student currently on an Addiction Medicine rotation working with a doctor whose practice is centered around SUD, but who has recently begun taking chronic pain patients on large doses of opiates into her practice. Many providers in the area have stopped prescribing opiates to these patients, which although totally understandable has created a sort of void where many of these patients are having a difficult time finding new providers who are willing to work with them.
She was asked to speak at an upcoming symposium to discuss the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opiates for Chronic Pain where they will be discussing the question "What was the intended goal of these guidelines, and what have the outcomes been in reality?" I believe the point of her talk is more or less that although there is undoubtedly a problem here, simply ceasing to prescribe opiates is not a realistic solution and that many of these doctors appear to be more or less patting themselves on the back for no longer prescribing opioids while ignoring the sequelae of doing so. I suppose an analogy would be touting statistics about fewer people being on food stamps, when in reality funding was simply cut and the underlying issue of food security has not been addressed.
I would really like to hear about your personal experiences with these CDC guidelines, with treating patients who are currently taking or have been on larger doses of opioids, or with anything at all related to this topic. I know it is quite a controversial topic, but all viewpoints are welcome!
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