Chronic pain groups claim the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's newly drafted prescribing guidelines display an "extreme imbalance" in the CDC's views on opioids and may result in the denial of opioids to patients who legitimately need them, according to Pain News Network.
Here are six points:
1. The guidelines advocates for "non-pharmacological therapy" as the optimal treatment for chronic non-cancer pain. For patients with acute or chronic pain, the CDC recommends smaller doses and quantities of opioids.
2. The pain advocacy groups wrote a letter to CDC director Tom Frieden, voicing their concerns and said, "By addressing only how to limit or avoid opioids, the new guidelines will inevitably result in fewer prescriptions overall - including those needed by patients with legitimate medical needs."
3. The U.S. Pain Foundation, American Chronic Pain Association, American Academy of Pain Management and other groups signed the letter. The letter was addressed to Debra Houry, director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in addition to Tom Frieden. Ms. Houry oversaw the creation of the guidelines.
4. Pain groups also critique the CDC in their letter for a lack of transparency as to how the guidelines were designed. Despite the claims, the CDC refused to release a public list of the member that drafted the guidelines.
5. The guidelines were revealed during a webinar last week, but the CDC is not accepting public comments on the agency's website. Additionally, the CDC did not notify the media or issue a news release about the webinar.
6. The pain advocacy groups claim the CDC solely focuses on prescription opioid diversion, abuse, addition and overdose as opposed to understanding chronic pain incidence, prevalence, trends and interventions. Despite the FDA mandating safety and efficacy trials approving opioid medication, the group claims the CDC opts to ignore the "FDA's prescribing expertise."
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