The need for public awareness and education about “pill mills” has become evident, as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), as well as many state health agencies, has recently cracked down on physicians who abuse their privilege to write prescriptions.
Pain Management Groups takes this topic very seriously and feels that it is our responsibility to educate hospitals, patients and communities on: 1) pill mills and the negative impact they have on our communities 2) what a balanced approach to pain looks like and 3) the differences between the two.
Pill mills and the negative impact they have on our communities
Pill Mills market themselves as “pain clinics” but operate in a manner far different from the balanced approach to pain of reputable pain management centers. In fact, pill mills are playing a major role in accelerating and exacerbating the prescription drug addiction epidemic and accidental death by pain medication in the United States. In Ohio alone, four Ohioans die every single day from prescription drug overdose. In addition, accidental drug overdose by prescription drugs is the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio, surpassing car crashes.
Numerous U.S. states have drafted legislation to address pill mills and increase requirements, audits and certifications of reputable pain clinics. While Pain Management Group welcomes this, we also see the need to directly address the increasing atmosphere of distrust that has made the legitimate practice of pain management increasingly difficult.
Balanced approach to pain management
The American Board of Pain Medicine defines the specialty as “a discipline within the field of medicine that is concerned with the prevention of pain, and the evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation of persons in pain.” In order to become trained in the field of pain management, physicians must complete full specialty training in anesthesiology, physical medicine & rehabilitation (PM&R), neurology or psychiatry.
After completing one of these residencies (requiring four years beyond graduation from medical school), the physician then completes additional one-to-two years fellowship training in the sub-specialized field of pain management. Often, this additional training involves learning interventional spine procedures and non-surgical peripheral joint care as well as management of medication for both acute and chronic care. By the time physicians have completed these minimum of five years of post-medical school training, they are trained in more than just signing a prescription.
Pain Management Group has a balanced approach to pain, treating patients through a combination of diagnostics, interventional treatment, physical modalities and therapy, while decreasing the focus on prescription medication. If prescription drugs are included in a balanced pain treatment plan, the focus becomes managing those medications for optimal patient benefit.
How does one identify a real pain management clinic vs. a “pill mill”?
A real pain management clinic has board-certified physicians in pain management. Most of the time, patients needing to be seen are required to make an appointment and have a referral from their primary care physician, although self referrals are not turned away.
By contrast, walk-ins are the only method of intake for “pill mills”. No referral is encouraged and/or required and little or no examination or work-up is done. Also, most patients of a legitimate practice have health insurance (small percentage of self-pay patients), whereas “pill mills” see the majority of patients for cash payments without any health insurance.
In addition, the Pain Management Group approach requires patients to sign narcotic agreements which outline the rules of receiving narcotic pain medications if necessary. “Pill mills” may not require such agreements between the practice and the patient, since the contracts enforce mandatory randomized drug screening, reporting of pharmacies used and call for patients who misuse medications or violate the agreement to be dropped from the practice.
Another important contrast is reputation. Pain Management Group clinics have employees and staff and render the best care possible. We realize that our ability to keep people employed depends on the reputation earned and kept in the communities we serve. Pain Management Group physicians strive to hold a certain standing within the medical community and the local region. This is an important difference between “pill mills” and a reputable pain clinic as it exemplifies physician leadership within the local medical community, as opposed to doctors that become isolated.
Pain Management Group physicians are all board certified in pain management and will continue to respect our patients, treat them in a balanced manner and battle the social issues tied to misuse and abuse of prescription pain medication.
To learn more about our process, contact PMG CEO John Bookmyer at
419.722.6645, jbookmyer@painmgmtgroup.com.
For clinical-focused questions, contact Dr. Ned Lakshmipathy at
419.460.3321, nlakshmipathy@painmgmtgroup.com or Sara Darr at
419.680.0504, sdarr@painmgmtgroup.com.
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Pain Management Group (PMG), the leading provider of comprehensive, hospital-based pain management centers, has been selected to present Ohio House Bill 93: The Impact of Prescription Drug Reform at the 2012 Ohio Hospital Association Annual Meeting, held June 11-13 in Columbus, Ohio.
