An Open Letter to the CEO and Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association
Richard Lawhern
Subject Matter Expert in public policy for regulation of opioid pain relievers and physicians who prescribe them. 28 years experience and thousands of contacts in social media support groups for people in pain.
For Saul M. Levin, MD, CEO and Medical Director
???American Psychiatric Association
???C/O:[email protected]
I recently saw your position on proposed DEA Telehealth Guidelines summarized at
The American Psychiatric Association has recommended the Drug Enforcement Administration ensure access to buprenorphine and other controlled drugs through telehealth to combat the opioid epidemic and the national mental health crisis.
I am also aware of the past participation of APA in a public statement of principles concerning removal of political interference from evidence-based medicine:
Our health care system faces many challenges. We call on policymakers to partner with us to advance policies that protect the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship, expand access to timely, evidence-based health care, and eliminate health disparities in our nation.
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Today, I urge you to lead your organization to an even more fundamental public position.?
It is time to call for public repudiation and withdrawal of 2022 CDC and Veterans Administration guidelines on prescription of opioids to patients with severe chronic pain.?Both of these guidelines are fatally flawed by undeclared conflicts of interest among their writers, politically dictated agendas, cherry-picked anti-opioid "research", junk science in the use of Morphine Milligram Equivalent dose criteria, and a patently unscientific effort to replace safe and effective opioid therapy with "alternative" therapies that don't work for millions of patients.?
I offer the following publications in mainstream mass media and peer reviewed medical journals,?as support for the position that I advocate:
Doctors are not to blame for the U.S. opioid crisis; new policy and law redirections are needed to address social determinants of health.
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The 2016 and 2022 CDC opioid prescribing guidelines were based on the assertion that doctor over-prescribing to patients has been a major cause of opioid use disorder and overdose-related deaths. Published data from the CDC and other sources reveals that this assertion was incorrect – and the CDC knew it was incorrect when it published its guidelines.
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领英推荐
The CDC’s revised prescribing guidelines retain an anti-opioid bias and do nothing to reverse the harmful policies inspired by the 2016 version.
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By Richard A. Lawhern, Ph.D.
Introduction
A CDC Guideline for prescribing opioids in chronic pain was published in March 2016. It has become clear that this Guideline is generating horrendously negative results for both chronic pain patients and their doctors. Many doctors are choosing to leave pain management rather than face possible prosecution by State ...
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and finally, an endorsement by PainWeek
An article posted earlier this week in the National Pain Report offers a comprehensive but succinct perspective on what public policy on opioid prescribing might look like if written from the point of view of pain patients themselves. Richard Lawhern, PhD, a nonphysician researcher and advocate for patients with chronic pain has compiled a “summary of principles” for the practice of pain management encompassing not only the role of opioids, but many other aspects of patient centered care as well. Members of the PAINWeek community will recognize many of Dr.....
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I speak and write widely as a subject matter expert on public health policy for the regulation of opioid pain relievers and clinicians who employ them in managing severe chronic pain.?I have published 200+ papers, articles, and interviews in a mix of peer reviewed medical journals and mass media.?I sit on two journal editorial boards as an invited patient advocate.?I have 26 years of hands-on experience as a healthcare writer and moderator of patient support groups in social media, with tens of thousands of?person-to-person contacts among patients, caregivers, press, lawyers, and professional clinicians.?
In a spirit of public transparency, be aware that this letter will be circulated to a mailing list of?~1000 correspondents and posted as a public letter on multiple social media platforms that generate over 200,000 impressions per day.?Some of these correspondents may choose to follow up with communications of their own.
I request the courtesy of an acknowledgement of receipt, with a substantive response from the APA on the merits of this proposal.?I am available to participate in APA staff discussions as desired.
Sincere best regards,
England & NW Europe+Sweden & Denmark+Scotland+Ireland+Basque+Germanic Europe+Wales = American ?????????
1 年That’s a great one, Richard Lawhern!
Women's Health Advocate/Lobbyist/Artist
1 年The effort behind the egregious attacks on patients in pain is shocking especially when there are those who have been given power who should not have it.