Long overdue Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines designed to reshape how doctors prescribe painkiller drugs like OxyContin and Vicodin have finally been released. While it took far too long for the CDC to issue this report, having guidelines in place is better than nothing. This is a good first start.
Area lawmakers, including U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., led the push for the new draft opioid prescribing guidelines for chronic pain patients. The new guidelines encourage doctors to try physical therapy, exercise and over-the-counter pain medications before turning to painkillers for chronic pain. The CDC also is urging doctors to prescribe the lowest effective dose possible when it is determined that an opioid is necessary to address a chronic pain issue. And at that point, the federal guidelines suggest that doctors should only continue prescribing the drugs if patients show significant improvement.
The draft guidelines were urgently needed given the rampant prescription-drug abuse epidemic that has plagued the region and nation. Nationally, more than 40 Americans die every day from painkiller overdoses. West Virginia still leads the nation in drug-related overdose deaths, more than twice the national average. In Virginia, the prescription drug-abuse crisis claimed more lives in 2014 than vehicle crashes.
Capito said the new guidelines are necessary and will help physicians better understand the risks associated with prescribing painkillers.
“West Virginians know the harmful effects of prescription drug abuse with many stories starting with addiction to painkillers,” Capito said. “Having clear rules of the road to guide prescribing practices will help physicians better understand the risks associated with prescription opioids and determine the best treatment for chronic pain management. Now that the CDC has completed its work on the guidelines for chronic pain, the agency should quickly turn its attention to developing guidelines for acute pain.”
The hope is that the CDC guidelines will help in curbing the rampant abuse of prescription narcotics.
“These guidelines represent a common sense approach to preventing opioid addiction and are crucial in our fight to end the drug abuse epidemic,” Manchin said. “I have pushed for the release of these guidelines because I have seen firsthand the devastating effects of prescription drug abuse on individuals, families, and communities in West Virginia. These guidelines will encourage responsible opioid prescribing practices and are therefore a critical part of our fight to end this epidemic.”
The new federal guidelines are voluntary, and do not apply to doctors who specialize in treating severe pain due to cancer and other debilitating diseases. But they are a good first start when it comes to addressing the deadly opioid epidemic. With hope area physicians will follow these suggested guidelines.