MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Patients who take opioids or other controlled substances are under greater scrutiny as Wisconsin doctors have begun to check a database of drugs previously given to patients before they write certain prescriptions.
The mandatory use of the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is meant to prevent patients from seeking narcotics and ensure they are using potentially dangerous drugs appropriately, the La Crosse Tribune (https://bit.ly/2nCw2pr ) reported.
The guidelines have led doctors to prescribe the overdose-reversing drug, naloxone, to patients on high doses of opioids in case problems arise at home. They’ve also required more patients to undergo urine tests to get some medications.
The program comes after bills passed by the Legislature in recent years to combat drug overdose deaths.
Wisconsin had more than 870 drug overdose deaths in 2015, more than two-thirds of which were from opioids. The rate of drug overdose deaths increased 48 percent over the past 10 years, although opioid deaths decreased slightly in 2015.
Medicine is undergoing a cultural shift amid the new regulations and guidelines. Two decades ago, pain was recognized as a vital sign, leading doctors to prescribe more painkillers. In response to opioid abuse and overdose deaths, they’re now holding back, sometimes recommending exercise, yoga or over-the-counter pain relief instead.
“We’re trying to convince doctors to prescribe less because patients don’t need that much,” said Dr. Gregory Love, chief of pain medicine at SSM Health Dean Medical Group. “Why have it in the medicine cabinet for a year?”
Dr. Alaa Abd-Elsayed, director of University of Wisconsin Health’s pain management clinic, said she plans to use a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant to educate primary care doctors about appropriate use of opioids and alternatives, such as other medications, steroid injections, nerve blocks and surgeries.
“A lot of providers don’t have the full knowledge of what is going on with opioids,” Abd-Elsayed said. “They keep prescribing them because they don’t know about the alternatives.”
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Information from: La Crosse Tribune, https://www.lacrossetribune.com
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