Call to Action – CDC Opioid Guidelines

Very much feel that interventional analgesic options are vital to reduce the utilization of opioid analgesics, thereby reducing morbidity and mortality from abuse, misuse, and overdose. Furthermore, these interventions are a sustainable treatment for patients, whereas opioid are far from that with the inevitable consequences of tolerance and hyperalgesia with chronic use.

CDC, please listen to the medical experts.

Politics have no place in medicine nor science!

The CDC guidelines and revision have caused more unintended negative consequences than positive. Integrative complementary treatments must be included as per the CMS white paper.

Opiod abuse has ruined my life and my wife's life its beyond me why the CDC is not pushing NM as hard as possible. My wife's opiod abuse and rehab twice ruined our lives and scarred my children. Lets hope the CDC begins to care more about people.

As we fight the COVID 19 pandemic, it is extremely vital that we do not allow the resurgence of Opioid epidemic by not allowing chronic pain patients access to interventional therapies as outlined in the NANS letter to the CDC.

Injection therapies and neuromodulation are excellent options to decrease opioid use and prevent increases in their dose.

Add the the guidelines this suggestion. In addition ADD TO THE GUIDELINES the understanding of the true Opioid Epidemic include illegal and deadly chemicals I.e. Carfentanyl / Carfentanil

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Neuromodulation and interventional therapies are crucial in overcoming current problem of opioid dependency and overuse etc. In pain management and achieving the quality of life and work productivity before chronic pain started.

Buprenorphine formulations on label for chronic pain (e.g. Belbuca or Butrans) should be first-line opioids in patients with 24 hr per day chronic pain severe enough to require an opioid. This is common sense, to try a Schedule III drug before a Schedule II drug, but many pharmacy benefits require that patients fail a Schedule II opioid like fentanyl or oxycontin or ms contin prior to being eligible for buprenorphine. GIVE THE SAFER MEDICATIONS FIRST WITHOUT HAVING TO TRY THE DEADLY, MORE ADDICTIVE MEDICATIONS. THIS IS COMMON SENSE.

The CDC guideline have destroyed innumerable lives

The recommended CDC guideline on opioid therapy is a good start to curtail the opioid crisis. However, chronic pain patients must have all the available options at their disposal to help them control the pain and remain functional. While non opioid pharmacological agents, physical therapy, acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, behavioral therapy, are all part of the available options, interventional pain treatment such as injection therapy, minimally invasive procedures, spinal augmentation therapies are also integran in the therapy options in order to help patient to achieve a functional relief. The opioid guideline will not succeed in reducing the opioid consumption if interventional pain therapies are not part of the treatment option. I urge you to review the available data and reconsider including interventional pain therapy as part of the chronic pain treatment modality in order to reduce and curtail our nations opioid crisis. Thank you!

I would also like to mention that it is not lost upon clinicians that the recommended Alternative treatments in the guidelines such as acupuncture or massage therapy have no long term data to support them, unlike spinal cord stimulation, which does.

Please consider interventional pain modalities and Neuromodulation as an Alternative to opioid prescribing. This has helped several of my patients attain good pain control.

I definitely agree with this letter and the procedures mentions that I have spent countless hours appealing insurance decisions. I also feel that stem cell therapy is an important modality to offer patients and deserves better insurance coverage.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter!

This is needed more then any medication.

FDA grants marketing authorization of the first device for use in helping to reduce the symptoms of opioid withdrawal in 2017. Still no mention of such therapies in current guidelines.

For our patients, we must support safe, efficacy proven treatment strategies including but not limited to spinal cord stimulation, peripheral nerve stimulation, dorsal root ganglion stimulation, radiofrequency ablation procedures, minimally invasive surgical procedures such as percutaneous discectomy, minimally invasive lumbar decompression and interspinous spacers.