Pain is a signal. It gets our attention. It arrests, alarms, and demands we listen. C.S. Lewis wrote in the problem of pain: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a de…
Category: Pain Management
Pain is more than physical: the story your body is trying to tell
Pain is a signal. It gets our attention. It arrests, alarms, and demands we listen. C.S. Lewis wrote in the problem of pain: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a de…
It’s time for pain protocols to catch up with the opioid crisis
We are more than a decade into what has been called the deadliest drug epidemic in American history. Every medical professional is now educated on the risks of opioids. Nearly every hospital has issued guidelines about careful prescribing. And yet — at…
The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
The actions taken by the Medical Board against a compassionate physician dedicated to alleviating chronic pain are nothing short of egregious, deeply flawed, and emblematic of a system that seems intent on punishing rather than protecting. This esteeme…
How the CDC’s opioid rules created a crisis for chronic pain patients
Adapted from Greed to Do Good: The Untold Story of CDC’s Disastrous War on Opioids. The 2016 CDC opioid guideline seemed to make obvious sense: Americans were consuming far too many prescribed opioids. Many users of illicit opioids reported that …
Cutting opioid use in half: a hospital’s pain management breakthrough
I’ve witnessed what’s possible when we rethink pain management. By implementing a multimodal assessment approach at my hospital, I achieved a 50 percent reduction in inpatient opioid use, measured in morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs). T…
When state legislators are given the opportunity, they vote overwhelmingly for doctor autonomy in pain treatment
As I have written elsewhere, the United States is now embroiled in a highly contentious debate concerning the causes of the so-called “opioid crisis.” Prescribing guidelines updated in 2022 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention …
The criminal enforcement of HIPAA
Congress passed the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996. This federal regulation was aimed at maintaining the privacy of medical records while ensuring the smooth flow of medical information pertinent to patient care. …
The criminal enforcement of HIPAA
Congress passed the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in 1996. This federal regulation was aimed at maintaining the privacy of medical records while ensuring the smooth flow of medical information pertinent to patient care. …
How a systems approach can revolutionize pain and depression treatment
As a health care writer and patient advocate for over 27 years, I have interacted with thousands of patients who experience chronic severe pain, caregivers who support struggling family members, and clinicians who treat painful conditions. Depression a…
