A federal bankruptcy court judge on Friday said he would approve OxyContin-maker Purdue Pharma’s latest deal to settle thousands of lawsuits over the toll of opioids that includes some money for thousands of victims of the epidemic.
The deal overseen by US bankruptcy judge Sean Lane would require some of the multibillionaire members of the semi-reclusive Sackler family who own the company to contribute up to $7bn and give up ownership of the Connecticut-based firm.
The new agreement replaces one the US supreme court rejected last year, finding it would have improperly protected members of the family against future lawsuits. The judge said he would explain his decision in a hearing on Tuesday.
What is the point if you don’t?
The doctor has a valid moral claim not to promote deadly addictions.
They can, and the doctor is the most qualified person to make that assessment.
I’m criticizing your undervaluation of the dangers & poor acknowledgement of the cultural causes of the opioid epidemic such as misguided thinking about pain promoted by the pain scales, influence & regulatory capture by pain associations & pharmaceutical industries of medical policymakers to pressure physicians, campaigns popularizing myths. Competent doctors then & to this day found it all ridiculous & mostly disregard the pain scales: they rely on patient history & background, knowledge of their medical conditions, patient conversation.
Some pain is untreatable, and there is something to the idea that focus amplifies pain, moderation & acceptance lessen it.
That’s not how it works or the physician was incompetent.
That’s why Perdue was in so much trouble. They got doctors to write tons of oxy prescriptions, including doctors who were NOT pain doctors and thus didn’t fully understand proper opioid treatment. So the person would go in for whatever minor thing, they’d walk out with a big oxy prescription, no ramp up or ramp down just take these for two months and then stop. And of course a lot of them got addicted.
Sure. And that’s exactly what a responsible pain management doctor does. They see their patient on a monthly basis, it’s not just a ‘here’s a self-renewing script have fun’. I think if you had more experience / visibility into responsible pain management practices you might have a different view.
And that is my point exactly. I am NOT arguing that a patient should walk in and say ‘omg doc i’m 10/10 it hurts so bad please give my oxycontin 25mg extended release 2 per day 6 month supply here I wrote it out can you sign this prescription?’
I’m NOT saying that a doctor should take a patient who they don’t believe is in pain and blindly prescribe dangerous dosages of opioid pain relief.
I AM saying that a doctor SHOULD NOT say ‘you broke your arm and have 47 stitches, you say you’re in pain, but on my scan it looks like the arm is healing so too bad try not to think about it’.