CHOOSE LEGITIMATE CARE

I applaud the efforts of your reporters in writing about the epidemic
problem of prescription drug abuse in our fine state. I was
disappointed, however, that your writers did not include enough
information about "legitimate," appropriately trained pain-management
physicians.

No one is more acutely aware of the endemic problem of prescription
drug abuse than "legitimate pain-management doctors," those who are
fellowship-trained, board-certified and keep up with ongoing training
annually. These doctors understand the pharmacology of opioid
medications as well as the multitude of other medications used to
treat pain, and the pathology of addiction. They follow nationally
accepted, research-based clinical guidelines when treating patients.

In order to combat prescription drug abuse, the public needs to
understand how to differentiate between a legitimate pain-management
physician and a pill-mill doc. A legitimate pain-management doctor
understands that opioid pain medications are but one tool of many
that may be used to treat chronic, unrelenting pain. They appreciate
the importance of monitoring the use of these medications with things
such as opioid agreements, urine drug screen monitoring and pill counting.

To combat prescription drug abuse, we must make the public aware of
the dangers of illegitimate doctors who call themselves
pain-management doctors. Unfortunately, the board of medicine has
been futile in its efforts to do the same.

Lora L. Brown, M.D., president, Florida Society of Interventional
Pain Physicians, St. Petersburg