Pubdate: Sun, 02 Mar 2008
Source: St. Petersburg Times (FL)
Copyright: 2008 St. Petersburg Times
Contact: http://www.sptimes.com/letters/
Website: http://www.sptimes.com/home.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/419
Author: Lora L. Brown
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n241/a01.html

CHOOSE LEGITIMATE CARE

I applaud the efforts of your reporters in writing about the epidemic 
problem of prescription drug abuse in our fine state. I was 
disappointed, however, that your writers did not include enough 
information about "legitimate," appropriately trained pain-management 
physicians.

No one is more acutely aware of the endemic problem of prescription 
drug abuse than "legitimate pain-management doctors," those who are 
fellowship-trained, board-certified and keep up with ongoing training 
annually. These doctors understand the pharmacology of opioid 
medications as well as the multitude of other medications used to 
treat pain, and the pathology of addiction. They follow nationally 
accepted, research-based clinical guidelines when treating patients.

In order to combat prescription drug abuse, the public needs to 
understand how to differentiate between a legitimate pain-management 
physician and a pill-mill doc. A legitimate pain-management doctor 
understands that opioid pain medications are but one tool of many 
that may be used to treat chronic, unrelenting pain. They appreciate 
the importance of monitoring the use of these medications with things 
such as opioid agreements, urine drug screen monitoring and pill counting.

To combat prescription drug abuse, we must make the public aware of 
the dangers of illegitimate doctors who call themselves 
pain-management doctors. Unfortunately, the board of medicine has 
been futile in its efforts to do the same.

Lora L. Brown, M.D., president, Florida Society of Interventional 
Pain Physicians, St. Petersburg
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