As a Hospice professional you know that hospice patients often suffer from debilitating pain and one method of treating that pain is through the use of opioids that may also lead to potential drug abuse. Dr. Ike’s PharmaCare is a Long-Term Care Pharmacy specializing in medication management for Hospice Agencies and other types of LTC facilities.
The opioid “crisis” as it is often described in the news has caught national attention and the ear of the POTUS. In a recent speech, President Trump mentioned that a focus of the White House is to see the number of opioid prescriptions cut by one-third within three years while expanding patient’s access to proven treatments and recovery programs. You can read more about this topic in the article “How the White House is tackling the opioid epidemic” published by Kaitlyn Schallhorn (@K_Schallhorn) for Fox News. http://fxn.ws/2FY7Cgd
Hospice patients get tremendous benefits from appropriate prescribing of opioids. The involvement of the family often complicates the treatment algorithm. In this setting, opioids are sometimes abused because so many individuals come in contact with the medication. Hospice Physicians may go as far as recommending urine drug screening tests which can tell if a patient is not taking the prescribed drugs, suggesting the possibility of diversion to the street. You can read more on this topic in the article “Hospice and Opioids: Finding a Safe Balance” published by Larry Beresford (@larryberesford) in The Lancet USA Blog. http://bit.ly/2u1tENu
