New Opioid Policy from my Health Network - Page 14

Stray · ‎04-20-2013

@sfnative wrote:
@Stray wrote:
@sfnative wrote:
@Allegheny wrote:
@sfnative
You made an excellent point. I also wondered about the directive wording. The handout wasn't composed by my physician's office, but the health network they are a part of, and I do foresee confusion by their patients and patient's caregivers.

The health network they belong to is one of the two largest networks in Western Pennsylvania. I am sure this policy will shortly become a news story locally.

@Allegheny

Due to the confusing use of terms, their attorneys need to re-write the document AND add an adendum, which would list all of the drugs to which the document refers - each and every one of them, with industry and generic names.
@sfnative- they are addressing opiates in the new policy so rather than listing all drugs which are "controlled substances" that may or may not need signatures, testing etc i.e. Lomotil. They merely should state opiates and eliminate "controlled substances" from their statement. All controlled substances won't require the protocol just those that fall into the opiate classification.
@Stray

OK, I'll say what I didn't say up front. I have a ton of med-legal experience. That document was ill-conceived and could have been written by a 9th grader, it was that bad. It gave confusing and incorrect information. It was NOT written by an attorney and needs to be kicked back to the healthcare network to their attorneys so that it can be properly composed. As it stands, it would have no chance in court, if challenged.

@sfnative- 50 years in Health Care and a JD degree....I worked for a Fortune 100 in NYC and wrote a lot of benefit policies. We weren't in the health insurance business but were self insured but AETNA administrated our plans. The final written documents are usually a joint effort by HR people, attorneys from both sides and in our case, signed off by the benefit executive and both CEOs. All attorneys do not have the same writing abilities and may just add points to be included but an actual document may be written by someone else and some documents are meant to be ambiguous. Also, when the policy comes down to the user (medical facilities), it's open to their interpretation and implementation. IMHO, the legal documents produced by the government are among the worst. When FMLA, first came about, it was almost impossible to write a lucid policy because it was so vague and open to interpretation....

Vivian · ‎03-11-2010

I know that the abuse of opioids is a serious public health problem. However, as someone who will be getting two knee replacements this year, I feel there are those of us innocent people who need pain meds at times. I have a history of ulcers, so I cannot take ibuprofen, alleve, or aspirin. With the level of pain I'm experiencing, Tylenol is just about useless. My doctor has prescribed an opioid drug, which I take very sparingly. One of the unintended side effects of prescription drug abuse is that patients who really need to control pain are made to feel like criminals when they get an Rx for a medication they may truly need.

muttmom · ‎11-28-2012

@Vivian Florimond wrote:
I know that the abuse of opioids is a serious public health problem. However, as someone who will be getting two knee replacements this year, I feel there are those of us innocent people who need pain meds at times. I have a history of ulcers, so I cannot take ibuprofen, alleve, or aspirin. With the level of pain I'm experiencing, Tylenol is just about useless. My doctor has prescribed an opioid drug, which I take very sparingly. One of the unintended side effects of prescription drug abuse is that patients who really need to control pain are made to feel like criminals when they get an Rx for a medication they may truly need.

@Vivian

I feel for you . There are times I take opioids and I do not feel the least bit criminal when I pick up my prescription.