An aggressive effort to curb opioid abuse has been underway in Washington since last year, when lawmakers required physicians to refer patients taking high dosages of opioids to a pain specialist for evaluation if their condition was not improving, according to a New York Times report.
"We started [prescribing opioids] because we were on a mission to help people in pain," said Jane Ballantyne, MD, of the University of Washington Medical Center. "But the long-term outcomes for many of these patients are appalling, and it is ending up destroying their lives."
After the requirements took effect, some Washington physicians stopped treating pain patients altogether, refusing to refill painkiller prescriptions, the report says. State officials "acknowledge some of the law's early deficiencies, including its sometimes indiscriminate application, and they are seeking to address them."
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"We started [prescribing opioids] because we were on a mission to help people in pain," said Jane Ballantyne, MD, of the University of Washington Medical Center. "But the long-term outcomes for many of these patients are appalling, and it is ending up destroying their lives."
After the requirements took effect, some Washington physicians stopped treating pain patients altogether, refusing to refill painkiller prescriptions, the report says. State officials "acknowledge some of the law's early deficiencies, including its sometimes indiscriminate application, and they are seeking to address them."
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