Under-treating pain — Are physicians scared of addiction? The DEA?

Are physicians under-treating pain because they're afraid patients might become addicted? Ort that they'll get in trouble from the Drug Enforcement Administration?

Over the past decade, the number of people addicted to pain medication has gone up, and scrutiny on providers who prescribe heavy drugs to ease pain has increased. According to Medscape's Ethics Report 2014, most physicians would not under-treat pain, regardless of the potential for addiction or issues with the DEA, and that hasn't changed much over time.

Here are three quick statistics on physician responses:

1. In 2010, 6 percent of physicians said they would under-treat pain because of addiction risk or fear of the DEA. That number went up only 3 percent in three years to 9 percent in 2014.

2. Around 84 percent of physicians said they would not under-treat patient pain, regardless of the circumstances. That number was down only a few points to 76 percent in 2014.

3. There were also physicians who responded "it depends." Ten percent responded that way in 2010; 14 percent in 2014.

Comments from physicians who answered the survey mentioned not wanting to "break the law" when prescribing pain medications and a desire not to go to jail over the matter. However, others said they would not consider the DEA in their treatment plans.

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