A recent editorial by Charles Lane of the Washington Post detailed the catastrophe that prescription painkillers have caused in the United States due to opioid overdoses. According to the story, in 2013, opioids played a role in over 16,000 deaths. Since 1999, they have had a role in more than 175,000 deaths, more than the number of people killed in the Vietnam War. While traffic accident deaths have declined, opioid deaths have climbed. According to Charles Lane, the blame for this uptick in deaths is due to the government and medical professionals who over-prescribe when treating non-cancerous pain.

The article goes on to site countless statistics about how often opioids are prescribed for pain, especially in the United States compared to the rest of the world. The article clearly indicates that modern medicine is to blame for the increase in prescription painkiller overdoses. Not once in the article is it mentioned how widespread pain is in this country and the world. The complexity of pain management is never mentioned either.

Pain Misconceptions

Pain affects roughly 43 percent of the population of the United States. Pain is the number one cause of people visiting a physician. Information from the National Institutes of Health published in 2011 by Martin Cheatle indicates that 40 percent of the opioid overdose deaths may be related to pain and suicide. The conclusion drawn is that pain is widespread and not being adequately treated.

Pain physicians are a small group of physicians who are actively trying to change and improve the management of this complex problem. Pain is a both a physical and psychological phenomenon. Every year we are developing new strategies to treat numerous conditions that cause chronic pain. Opioids have been only one small tool in the complex arena of pain management. Patients have become more sophisticated over time and everyone wants their pain to be treated immediately and completely. Most doctors do not have the sophisticated training and knowledge to deal with all the complexities of pain, so they try the easy solution prescribing opioids. Since pain is so wide spread, bad outcomes are inevitable until more people are educated about pain and more research and new solutions can come to market.

Shame on Charles Lane for throwing blame all over the place. Pain is a complex issue, as are the overdose deaths caused by opioids. Outrage should be focused on the lack of treatments available for those who have pain. Outrage should be focused on industry and the government for the lack of research spending on pain. Outrage should be focused on medical training programs that do not educate new physicians about pain management. Pain physicians and researchers are making tremendous strides in pain management, but it will take time. Mr. Lane is showing only ignorance about the problem of pain and casting irresponsible blame without looking towards a solution.