Quote:
Originally Posted by NurseTim
I hold the American pain society largely responsible with their position that "Pain is what the patient says it is." And making the pain scale, now largely useless, the "6th vital sign".
|
The Joint Commission is just as culpable. As always it never hurts to follow the money.
At around the same time, the companies that manufactured these narcotics—including Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, and Endo Pharmaceuticals—began to aggressively market their products for long-term, non-cancer pain, including neck and back pain. They promoted their prescription narcotics to doctors through ads in highly regarded publications, and through continuing-education courses for medical professionals. They also funded non-profits such as the American Academy of Pain Management and the American Pain Society—the latter previously headed by Dr. Russell Portenoy, a co-author of the Pain study and a proselytizer for expanded narcotics prescribing. The American Pain Society published guidelines that advocated for doctors to expand their use of prescription narcotics to relieve pain.
http://www.newyorker.com/business/cu...-pill-epidemic