Journal of pain & palliative care pharmacotherapy
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An international panel of pain specialists including physicians and health policy scholars met to discuss the impact of fear of opioids on the clinical use of these strong analgesics. Recognizing potential risk from opioids, the panel members concluded that irrational fear of the drugs often impedes their appropriate use. The need for education among clinicians was recognized and the panel concluded that while progress has been made, much remains to be done to correct unfounded fears and misconceptions that impede provision of opioid analgesia when it is indicated.
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This paper introduces a new series in the Journal that will address Outcomes Research and Pharmacoeconomics in Pain & Palliative Care. The goal of the series is to provide an overview of the field of outcomes research that will be geared to clinicians, and to review the outcomes literature in the area of Pain and Palliative Care. ⋯ There are a lot of misconceptions about the field including some who look at outcomes research as not really science and not adding to our knowledge about drugs and drug use. To the contrary, outcomes research is a powerful tool, but like many others it has limitations and it is important to understand both what outcomes research is, and what it isn't.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2002
Case ReportsPain relief from baclofen analgesia in a neuropathic pain patient who failed opioid and pharmacotherapy: case report.
A case report and discussion of a 64-year-old white female who presented with uncontrolled pain in several body areas despite massive oral controlled release morphine use is presented. Her pain was not associated with much spasticity. This patient responded remarkably to intrathecal baclofen even after the opioid was tapered and discontinued. The potential usefulness of baclofen in seemingly opioid-resistant chronic pain is discussed.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2002
Medications through the Internet: what clinicians and patients need to know.
Patients are now able to obtain mail order prescriptions through the Internet from reputable online pharmacies without leaving their home. While this can be a great convenience, the Internet also provides a new means for easily questionable or even illegal prescription medications, i.e., prescription legend medications may be obtained without a prescription and drug products not legally available in the United States can be obtained in this way. ⋯ Clinicians should know where their patients obtain medications, how to verify the validity of the sources of prescriptions, and how to report fraud. Ways to verify the legitimacy of an online pharmacy are described.
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J Pain Palliat Care Pharmacother · Jan 2002
Defining hospice and palliative care: some further thoughts.
Widespread acceptance of hospice in the United States has contributed to increased public and professional interest in improved care, not only for dying persons, but for persons undergoing treatment for conditions that may not pose an immediate threat to their life. 'Palliative care' has been brought into use to denote care that covers a broader category of patients who do not necessarily have a medical condition that is not, at present, life threatening. The use of two related and overlapping terms by health care professionals is confusing and, in the absence of clear definitions, has contributed to needless controversy. ⋯ Palliative care, once used as a euphemism for hospice, now has several meanings. This paper is designed to explore the historical evolution of both terms and to reduce the confusion and controversy surrounding their current application.