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Advocates for Prescription Opioid Reform
prescriptionopioidreform.com

Families, Patients, and Doctors, Hoping for Change

First, Advocates for Prescription Opioid Reform (APOR),  wants to assure you that our purpose is not, to interfere with the needed pain medication for chronic or acute pain patients.  Our sole purpose is to make the system, which delivers the much needed pain medications to those in pain, a safe and responsible one.  Many of us are made up of not only patients, but family members of patients, who have suffered from chronic pain.  Also, we have concerned doctors, who are members, and who serve on our advisory board. 

We hope education, regulation, and a safe delivery system, will benefit, not only those who need the medications, but the general public.  We are asking our federal government to take action on the issues regarding prescribed opioids (narcotics), that will protect patients, and the general public, from the harm that can occur, when these drugs are not carefully regulated and dispensed.

An epidemic of unprecedented death and addiction from prescription opioids is currently a public health crisis that we must address.  Current reliable research, based in “evidence-based” science, is now showing that the once “hoped for” results of treating chronic pain with opioids is not producing the intended results.  As patients, we need to know why, and moreover, we need to know that our pain management treatment is based on sound and medically reliable science.  More importantly, that it will not add to our suffering. 

Too many patients, who have sought treatment for un-remitting pain, have been compromised with an unwanted problem.  Namely, severe addiction, and in some cases, accidental overdose and death.  These patients did not go to their doctor, expecting or anticipating these types of results.  They simply needed relief from their pain.

Pain patients have a right to expect proper pain management.  We believe that our efforts will lead to the safe and responsible delivery of that medical service, through the re-education, proper training, and regulation, of physicians, who practice pain management with opioids.  We believe that overprescribing and mis-prescribing of opioids,  is due to physician and patient mis-information. 

A major change in the treatment and management of pain has taken place in the last 15 years.  The information that changed physician practices, is now widely recognized as stemming from pharmaceutical claims that were geared to increase the use of opioids/narcotics to treat pain.  These claims, such as “less than 1% of chronic pain patients become addicted”, were grossly untrue, yet led to a very aggressive use of opioids in the treatment of all kinds of pain.  Claims, such as “pain is undertreated” was also grossly misrepresented, and contributed to drastic increases of many patients, who were inappropriate candidates for opioid therapy.  Overtreatment and overprescribing has resulted in the alarming statistics of death and addiction from prescription opioids, in the general population, that we see today.  Many people/patients believe that only abusers of drugs give rise to this concern.  However, we are finding that many “abusers” began with a prescription for an opioid, given in a doctors office.  The addictions that can follow poor pain practices, are further compounded by the fact that most physicians are not prepared to treat an addiction, once it has begun.

We strongly believe that medical treatments and practices for pain, should be lead by the medical experts, who are concerned with the patients welfare and progress, and who take the oath to “first do no harm”.   In asking for a more safe delivery of pain management, we are firm in our request that the pharmaceutical companies, who have a much different agenda, be left out of the process of establishing medical “best practices”, and a reform of the prescription opioid medical practices.

We recognize the need, and the place, opioids have for chronic pain.  However, we want to see that need applied, to only the appropriate patients, who have been carefully selected and maintained, by fully trained and educated physicians, who can administer this treatment safely and judiciously.  Patients, who have been started and maintained on opioids, improperly, has contributed to the current crisis.  This situation only compromises, and  threatens the delivery of pain medications for true pain patient candidates. 

We hope you will agree that only a system that is based in "safe" medical practices, will ensure that proper pain patient candidates, will receive the pain management and medications they deserve.   Our purpose and goal, is to protect the patient and the general public from the potential harm that can come from inappropriate pain management practices.

Improper use of pain medications and improper pain management, by improperly trained physicians, serves only to threaten the pain patients ability to get the pain therapies they deserve.  
 

We feel no other document exhibits the medical mis-information that is prevelant among physicians than the brocure produced by the Physicians for Reform of Opioid Prescribing (PROP), called the myths and facts brocure for Cautious, Evidence-based, Opioid Prescribing.  It encompasses all the mis-information, clarifies, and dispells the myths surrounding the practices of pain management and the use of opioids.

For those, who would maintain that our efforts would “send a wrong message” to physicians, who would then “not” treat pain, our answer is simple; we trust that doctors, who are properly trained and informed, will no longer be infuenced by “wrong messages”.  They will do the right things, and will work with their patients, in a safe and responsible way. 

RESOURCES
Our other pages in this section of our website are intended to better inform you of the most recent concerns, research, policies, facts, etc., concerning the use of opioids for pain.  Check out our Patient rescources page.  Also,please see our medical library of information regarding opioids/narcotics for pain.   If you are concerned that you may be addicted to your pain medications, and that you would like more information, please seek proper medical attention.  We also have a general Resources page.  It may save your life!  Our hope is that you will be a more informed patient and a better advocate for the treatments you seek and deserve, as a chronic pain patient.

 Please join us in our efforts, to not only stem this crisis, but to assure that patients in pain, are protected from any additional harm coming out of an inadequate system.

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