Converting to daily morphine equivalents is not elementary. Inaccurate opioid conversions can place patients at increased risk of underdose or overdose. A recent petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) filed in July 2012 requesting that the FDA change labeling on opioid analgesics to restrict daily dosing for non-cancer pain to a maximum of […]
Read MoreHooray for the FDA: Opioid Relabeling Decision is Spot On!

Highlights include… Denied change to maximum 100mg daily morphine equivalent (MEQ) dose Denied 90 day limit for noncancer pain Denied differentiation between cancer and noncancer pain Ingenious wording on the issue of “moderate to severe” v. “severe” pain. As one colleague aptly put it, “To say pain that is ‘severe enough to warrant around-the-clock opioids’ […]
Read MoreThe Great Opioid Divide: Written and Sealed

At Pain Week it was written; on this blog it is sealed. After much introspection of the original agenda as partially outlined in Two “Chairs” for PROMPT, the revised version of what was originally to be an “all out” PROP-PROMPT debate finally happened at Pain Week 2013 on September 6th. The revised style was entitled, […]
Read MoreTell me about Pain Week

Pain Week is a unique experience unmatched pain education, and incredible collaboration. How did I miss the last several years of such a unique meeting? From the development of the programs pre-meeting to the day I steeped foot on the 4th floor of the Cosmopolitan in Las Vega, it was one pleasant surprise after the […]
Read More