“We started [prescribing opioids] because we were on a mission to help people in pain,” said Jane Ballantyne, MD, of the University of Washington Medical Center. “But the long-term outcomes for many of these patients are appalling, and it is ending up destroying their lives.”
After the requirements took effect, some Washington physicians stopped treating pain patients altogether, refusing to refill painkiller prescriptions, the report says. State officials “acknowledge some of the law’s early deficiencies, including its sometimes indiscriminate application, and they are seeking to address them.”
Related Articles on Pain Management:
Few California Pain Physicians Use State Drug Database
Physician’s Third Pain Management Clinic to Open in Simi Valley
Medicaid, Insurers Denied Access to Colorado Prescription Drug Registry
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