From Deseret News archives:
State tries to reduce prescription overdoses
The state is trying to reduce the number of overdoses from prescription drugs.
Recommendations by the state include random testing for illegal drugs and overuse of pain pills. Doctors may also ask patients to sign a contract before being prescribed opioids like oxycodone.
Some doctors believe pain pills are over-prescribed and say there aren't enough restrictions.
"We really need to step back look at what we're doing and make certain we're not creating more problems," said Alan Colledge, a Utah County orthopedic doctor and member of the guildeline panel.
But other doctors say the painkillers are necessary for some patients and there are already too many restrictions.
A public comment period on the recommendations runs through Dec. 15. Any recommendations that are officially adopted by the state could become required by insurance companies.
Lynn Webster, a Salt Lake County pain management and addiction doctor, supports the guidelines' emphasis on assessing whether patients are at risk for abuse. Webster, the medical director of Lifetree Clinical Research and Pain Clinic and a member of the guidelines panel, he said primary care doctors don't do that enough.
But he said the recommendation that opioids be used as a last resort is inappropriate for some patients in severe pain and strongly disagreed with the call for doctors to consult a pain specialist for patients who need high doses.
Webster said there aren't enough pain specialists in Utah for referrals and that the state's limit is "an arbitrary number" that may not apply in individual cases.
Utah's guidelines advise doctors to try other pain relieving methods, including physical therapy, before turning to prescriptions. And patients are to be warned not to expect complete relief and that they could become addicted.
"It's aimed at trying to make sure people don't end up on opioids who don't need them or won't benefit from them," said Robert Rolfs, the state epidemiologist.
