Category: Pain Management

Confusing correlation with causation: the most common error in science

The universe can be a very confusing place. Quite often, things will happen together or one-after-another that will cause even learned people to connect two events as causative when they are not. These misattributions are not just of academic concern. …

What the DEA does not understand or does not care about medication cessation decisions

Reports sent back to Washington during the Vietnam War made it clear to everyone. The U.S. was winning. There could be no debate or doubt. It was right there in the numbers. When searching for a metric to measure “success,” U.S. politicians…

Medication-assisted therapy and opioid use disorder [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join physician Jill Becker as we delve into the world of medication-assisted therapy (MAT) for opioid use disorder. Discover why MAT is crucial, the challenges patients face, and how Jill&#…

Shielding physicians: the untold story of legal preparedness

Federal and state regulators have intensified the scrutiny of physicians in recent years in response to mounting overdose rates and the corresponding rise in mortality. Many in health care see this as a good thing. They would be wrong. Look no further …

Shielding physicians: the untold story of legal preparedness

Federal and state regulators have intensified the scrutiny of physicians in recent years in response to mounting overdose rates and the corresponding rise in mortality. Many in health care see this as a good thing. They would be wrong. Look no further …

AI enforcement in health care: Unpacking the DEA’s approach to the opioid epidemic

In 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions became convinced that the opioid crisis was not the fault of cartels smuggling fentanyl across porous American checkpoints. And it wasn’t due to pharmaceutical companies corrupting drug approval officials a…

What the media gets wrong when reporting on “overprescribing”

A recent article in the Macomb Daily reported that a “Shelby Township doctor was convicted last Thursday of all counts for conspiring to distribute more than 300,000 opioid prescription pills valued at over $6 million, following a trial in U.S. D…

Medical malpractice or miscarriage of justice? A doctor’s ordeal.

In 1999, Sally Clark was convicted of murder. Her son, Christopher, had been born in September of 1996 and by all accounts, had been a healthy baby. Just three months later, an ambulance was called to the home, and the baby was dead. The mother, Sally,…

The DEA’s war on addiction doctors

Tennessee Dr. Ralph Thomas Reach is a vastly experienced addiction medicine physician. Continued application of his knowledge and pioneering experience could improve the opioid drug overdose death rate in his state. Unfortunately, the state government …

Why insurance prefers opioids over non-pharma options [PODCAST]

Subscribe to The Podcast by KevinMD. Catch up on old episodes! Join Amy Baxter, a clinical associate professor of emergency medicine. We’ll delve into the opioid crisis, the misconceptions surrounding pain management, and the barriers that hinder…