...a number of years ago, the Institute of Medicine set forth guidelines intended to reduce the influence of advertising on how physicians prescribed medications... to date, relatively few physicians have actually adopted those guidelines.
I imagine it takes a special kind of practitioner to push aside the barriers in the system to get to the SUD that lies underneath, even when he or she knows it’s there.
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…no more than 7.4% of overdose patients had received a prescription for naloxone following an overdose. That covers both the initial visit and any follow-up contacts the hospital required.
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I asked a number of the attending docs if they’d spoken with the patient about the problem, and was startled by how rarely the answer was yes.
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…with any helping relationship, I think it’s best to restrict self-disclosure to situations where you believe it will advance the goals of treatment.
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Definite progress has been made, but there are still plenty of examples of people who fall through the cracks in the healthcare system.
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I heard one man exclaim in a packed hospital waiting room. “It’s her damn job. She took an oath.” I was struck by his sense of entitlement. And I could envision how, enhanced by withdrawal and desperation, it could turn violent.
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Smaller government is not always better government. It shouldn’t take a major health crisis to remind us.
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His attending physician seems to have attempted to address alcoholism before, with little or no success. This may represent a last chance.
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That is not the doc’s fault, and frankly, it isn’t really James’, either. It’s what happens where addiction rules. If not at that moment, then the next.
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It’s these outdated attitudes towards addictions that enable the healthcare professional to ignore important information provided by the patient.
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Think physician practices and pharmacies and specialty clinics who began with a lucrative sideline that may now be their main source of revenue.
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In the past, we’ve flung opioids at the problem, and haven’t developed alternatives.
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