by Lynn R. Webster, MD, and Beth Dove
Prescription opioids are dangerous in the hands of drug abusers, but
they are also beneficial or even lifesaving for millions of people who
otherwise
would live with chronic pain. Clinicians who prescribe opioids are often
caught between their professional obligation to relieve suffering and their
desire to avoid contributing to the nonmedical consumption of controlled
substances.
Primary care physicians, nurse practitioners and other first-contact clinicians
are uniquely positioned to make a difference at the beginning of medical
treatment. Research indicates that a patient with chronic pain or a substance-
use disorder is far more likely to seek treatment from a family doctor than
from a specialist. That reality creates an opportunity for front-line clinicians
to maximize the chances for success when patients begin opioid therapy.
This book was written to help all interested parties (eg, clinicians who treat
pain, drug and medical-practice regulators, law-enforcement authorities and
pharmacists) to sort out the clinical, regulatory, and ethical issues associated
with the prescribing of opioid analgesics and to reduce the risk of medication
misuse, abuse, and diversion. The information presented here is based on the
work of numerous experts in the fields of pain management and addiction
medicine. If knowledge is power, then this information is intended to instill
the power and confidence needed for clinicians to safely treat their patients’
pain and restore their dignity and lost quality of life.
"Chronic pain is a growing problem and yet in many cases goes
undertreated due to fear and a lack of training, and knowledge from those in
the trenches treating such patients. This book fills in those gaps of education
and training and provides the practitioner with the know-how and confidence
needed to tackle the abuse and diversion associated with prescribing opioids
and ensure that the same medications are available for the patients who
greatly benefit from them."
-- E. Hall, review on Amazon.com
"On one's own, it could take weeks to access and read the many
documents consulted for this book or, much better, one can invest several
hours studying the 8 chapters in which Webster and Dove have already done
the hard work of assembling the best resources available and interpreting
them in a concise and, most important, useful fashion."
-- Pain Treatment Topics review
". . . A very timely topic, of considerable interest not only to pain medicine
specialists but of great clinical relevance to primary care physicians engaged
in the treatment of patients suffering from persistent pain conditions."
-- Medscape review
6 x 9", 208 pgs. Sftbd. ISBN 9780962481482. Item # SRP148.
AVAILABLE NOW!
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