The nation’s top public health agency suggested revising – and in some cases easing – standards for doctors prescribing oxycodone and other opioid medicines on Thursday.
The prior guidance published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention six years ago helped limit the kind of prescription that sparked the greatest overdose epidemic in U.S. history. However, it also drove some doctors to be too quick to discontinue patients on prescription opioids and too rigid in keeping the drugs away from patients who would benefit, according to CDC authorities.
“We started hearing how the rules were being misused and misapplied,” said Christopher Jones, a co-author of the draught guidance at the CDC.
The proposed modifications, which are contained in a 229-page draught update published in the Federal Register, would roll back some specified drug limitations. Their release kicks off a 60-day public comment period. Before completing the amended guidance, the CDC will review feedback.
Jones stated that the overall goal is to promote personalised patient care. It also provides more alternatives for addressing the type of short-term, acute pain that occurs as a result of procedures or injuries.
One expert expressed reservations about a planned modification.
According to Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman of Georgetown University Medical Center, the 2016 guideline was successful in reducing improper and unsafe prescribing. Its detractors have included not only pain patients, but also painkiller producers and the organisations they finance, she claims.
“There was nothing wrong with the original standards,” Fugh-Berman, a compensated expert witness for plaintiffs in pharmaceutical marketing disputes, said.
Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, a head and neck surgeon in Flint, Michigan, was pleased with the news.
According to Mukkamala, the rules have been a barrier to patient treatment, with some pharmacists citing the CDC’s advised limitations and refusing to fill prescriptions as written by doctors.
Post Your Comments