[Vision2020] Profiting From Pain

[lfalen]

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Thanks for the post. "Worst Pills, Best Pills" lists the dangers and side effects of pain pills. Most are on their "do not use" list.
I take something when I have a root canal and occasionally take Aleve when my arthritis does not let me go to sleep. Other than that I do not use them. I was given a bottle of pain pills when I had a Hernia operation. I did not take them, I wanted to know when I hurt.
Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: "Art Deco" <art.deco.studios at gmail.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Date: 06/23/13 06:49
Subject: [Vision2020] Profiting From Pain

 
 

 


June 22, 2013
Profiting From PainBy BARRY MEIER 
THE use of narcotic painkillers, or opioids, has boomed over the past decade as drug makers and doctors have promoted them for a new use: treating long-term pain from back injuries, headaches, arthritis and conditions like fibromyalgia. Insurers have also grown to see pills as a cheaper way to treat chronic pain than other methods.
Some patients are greatly helped by opioids, a large family of medications. Among the more widely used opioids are oxycodone, which is found in Percocet and OxyContin, and hydrocodone, which is used in Vicodin. Other potent opioids include fentanyl and methadone. Narcotic painkillers are now the most widely prescribed class of medications in the United States, and prescriptions for the strongest opioids, including OxyContin, have increased nearly fourfold over the past decade.
There is increasing evidence, however, that such drugs, along with being widely abused, are often ineffective in treating long-term pain and can have serious consequences, particularly when used in high doses. Along with the risk of addiction, side effects can include psychological dependence, reduced drive, extreme lethargy and sleep apnea.
The economic costs associated with the painkiller boom have also proved enormous, giving rise to a host of unanticipated medical, legal and social costs. Over the past decade, the legal - and illegal - use of these drugs has given birth to new businesses and expanded existing ones. These include urine-screening tests to make sure patients are taking the drugs properly, added sales of addiction treatment drugs, growing emergency-room expenses, law-enforcement budgets and skyrocketing costs for insurers.
In the short run, treating a patient with an opioid like OxyContin, which costs about $6,000 a year, is less expensive than putting a patient through a pain-treatment program that emphasizes physical therapy and behavior modification. But over time, such programs, which run from $15,000 to $25,000, might yield far lower costs.
Here is a brief guide to the economics of opioids.
Barry Meier is a reporter who covers business and medicine for The New York Times and the author of the Times e-book "A World of Hurt: Fixing Pain Medicine's Biggest Mistake."
 

--
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com


 
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