Opioids - an Easy Solution

In the early 1990s, doctors faced severe pressure to begin treating pain more seriously and efficiently. Large, integrated health centers pushed physicians to treat patients quickly and bill insurers at the highest rate possible. Opioids provided an easy solution to both these mounting pressures. However, pain is often hard to quantify, and doctors were rarely educated on appropriate dosage and treatment plans. This led to over-prescription of opioids to countless patients, who were often prescribed 2-3 times their required dosage in order to minimize return visits. Some doctors were motivated solely by profit, turning their offices into “pill-mills” and prescribing opioids with little to no discretion. Purdue Pharma believes that appropriate certification and education of medical professionals in the safe usage of opioids will drastically reduce opioid abuse and addiction in the United States. We hope to tackle this issue by educating doctors on proper practice and patients on appropriate usage of opioids.

First, all physicians will now require specialized certification to prescribe any opioid produced by Purdue Pharma. We plan to work with the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) to introduce the education of safe opioid use into the United States Medical Licensing Examination. This will ensure that doctors entering into the workforce will trained to safely treat pain directly out of medical school.

Additionally, we plan to offer training sessions at Purdue Pain Centers for any current physician looking to become certified in opioid pain treatment. By patterning with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), a non-profit organization that certifies and recertifies physicians in medical specialties and helps establish educational and industry standards, we hope to ensure all physicians prescribing opioids will be able to safely treat pain.