Human Rights Watch Accuses Tennessee Of Over-Regulating Pain Management
A report from Human Rights Watch accuses Tennessee of regulating opioids to the point of depriving patients in pain. Along with Washington State, the analysis focuses on Tennessee because of its new prescribing regulations, which are considered some of the strictest in the nation.
In its 109-page report, Human Rights Watch interviewed patients who were involuntarily weaned off of high-doses of powerful painkillers. Tennessee’s new law doesn’t directly impact so-called chronic pain patients, but it seems to have had a chilling effect. Several tell the advocacy organization that their doctors feel pressure to lower everyone’s dosages.
Gail Gray of Celina, Tennessee, tells HRW that her primary care physician cut her pain medication nearly in half but still felt like he could get in trouble. So Gray was forced to a clinic an hour away, which she worries might be a “pill mill” since they only take cash.
“I’m not comfortable with this. I feel like he [my primary care doctor] has pushed me into doing something that’s not right, and I don’t want to break the law,” she said.
More: Tennessee Doctors In Training Mode As Nation’s Tightest Opioid Restrictions Take Effect
HRW also interviewed clinicians, like a nurse practitioner from Vanderbilt’s hematology department who tells of her difficulty with insurance companies denying heavy prescriptions for a sickle cell patient.
A doctor in Knoxville describes how a new state law requiring physicians to try alternatives before turning to opioids has resulted in risky decisions. At times, he’s recommended surgery as a first course of action, just to avoid flack from regulators.
“It’s really against everything I was trained to do, but it’s the will of the legislators and regulators,” Dr. Joe Browder said.
The state did not respond to the study, which was funded by the U.S. Cancer Pain Relief Committee, a nonprofit with ties to pain management and the pharmaceutical industry. But Human Rights Watch says its top recommendation is for states to just limit the unintended consequences of cracking down on opioid prescribing.
Filed under: General Problems
In 2024 the largest healthcare provider in Tennessee, Vanderbilt Healthcare STILL refuses to prescribe ANYONE more than the 80 mg equivalent of Morphine. They don’t care if you have been in chronic pain for more than 18 years, that you have tried literally every possible treatment method or additional medication to help lower pain that is non-opioid. I have a medical file that is literally over 2’ tall. I lost my pain pump when I moved from Illinois to Tennessee because I was told it was too easy for me to share my medication (meaning allowing a drug user to push a needle into my abdomen, find the port and withdraw the drug). At every refill the amount left in the pump has to be measured to ensure this didn’t happen. I find it hard to believe that any pain patient would go through the danger of implanting, the costs, and the side effects just to give someone else their own meds.
I have lost so much of my quality of life. Apparently in TN, Vanderbilt thinks it’s better to have a 60 yo confined to bed 90% of the time than to increase her pain medication slightly.
I am also on a medication that literally makes it very difficult for me to retrieve the correct words and remember simple strings of words because it is supposed to help my pain. If I dont take it I will lose my current pain rx. This is no way to live.
Republicans control A-L-L levers of gubb-mint in TN.
Hmmmmm…
Might there be some pattern with the recent draconian laws passed taking meds from vulnerable patient groups???
So compassionate are these Trump republicans.
Standing up to all that Obamacare socialism and such! Don’t call it losing your medication, quality of life, and going into bankruptcy…call it liberty, law and order, and FREEDOM!!
MAGA he** yeah!!
for ALL OF U WHO DO NOT KNOW,,,,HRW INVESTIGATED ALL OF THIS BECAIUSE 100’S IF NOT 1000’S OF US EMAILED THEM AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN,,,,OF THE TORTUREOUS LACK OF EFFECTIVE MEDICAL CARE THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT HAS DONE TO ALL CPP.S!!!!!!ANOTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION CALLING OUT AMERICA FOR TORTUREING ITS MEDICALLY ILL,,,SOME TO DEATH!!!! HRW GOT MOST OF IT RIGHT,,,,,NOT ALL OF IT,,,PERHAPS LIKE MANY,,,THEY TRUSTED PHONNY USA DATA ON WHEN EXPLAINING ,”OVER PRESCRIBING,””NOT KNOWING HOW CORRUPTED THE DATA IS,,,,USING 12 YEARS OLD,OR HEROIN TO TRUMP UP NUMBERS ETC,,,,,AT LEAST HRW CALLED OUT THE TRUTH TO THE WORLD ABOUT AMERICA TORTUING ITS MEDICALLY ILL,,,SOME TO DEATH,,,,SOOO ALLL OF US,,,WHO KEPT ON EMAILEN,,FORWARDING ,,LETTTERS ETC,,,,THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNTITTES FOR HELP,,,,,,,,,,THIS WAS DONE BECAUSE OF YOU,,,,HRW RESPONDED BECAUSE OF ALL OF U WHO EMAILED THEM ASKING FOR HE;LP,,,,,,,SOO 2 THUMBS UP FOR ALL OF US,,,,I CALLTHIS A SUCCESS,,,,ALONG W/THE UN RESPOND 2 YEARS AGO CALLING OUT THE USA FOR TORTUREING THE MEDICALLY ILL BY DENYING THEM ACCESS TO EFFECTIVE MEDICAL CARE,,,,
NOW WHY IS ITALLL THEE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZAIO ARE CALLING OUT AMERICA FOR TYORTUREING ITS OWN CITIZENS,,,BUT AMERICA REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEY ARE TORTUREING US TO DEATH????
OH BTW,,,I HEAR OUR BUDDY KOLODNY IS HAVING A HISSY FIT OVER ON TWIT-ER,,,FOR THE HRW REPORT,,,,GOOD,,,,,,THE SCARY THING IS,,,HE IS CLAIMING WE HAVE ALLL BEEN PAID OFFF BY BIG PHARMA TO COLLUDE AGAINST HIM!!!,,,,,THE MAN IS NUTS,,,HERE THAT KOLODYN,,,YOUR CRAZY,,