Utah doctor defends concept of ‘pseudoaddiction’
Dr.
The
Critics say promotion of that concept encourages doctors to prescribe more opioids to patients who are exhibiting addictive behaviors, which can worsen their addictions and lead to overdose deaths.
Webster testified he believes the concept of pseudoaddiction is valid, but it is "not meant to give clinicians an excuse to just keep increasing the dose."
Doctors should always carefully evaluate and monitor their patients, he said.
Webster blasted insurance companies, saying that are "a major reason we have an opioid crisis."
Insurance companies only want to pay for drugs, not other types of therapy, and they only want to cover the "cheapest" drugs and those are the ones that are most dangerous, he said.
The state alleges opioid manufacturers engaged in false or deceptive marketing efforts that understated the risks of addiction and fatal overdoses, while overstating therapeutic benefits. From 2000 through 2017, there were more than 6,100 prescription opioid-related deaths in
Webster was not named as a defendant in the
Taking too many opioids can cause death, but so can untreated or undertreated pain, Webster said.
Testifying by video,
The doctor said he discounted his patient's complaints of continuing pain.
The man went home, wrote a note to his daughter and killed himself, Webster said.
"I believe there's always been an undertreatment of pain and today its worse than its been in a decade," Webster testified, citing a published estimate that as many as 170 million Americans may be experiencing chronic pain.
State attorneys have questioned the validity of a variety of numbers that have been cited over the years to describe individuals experiencing chronic pain.
Webster said he believes untreated pain has become an increasing problem because the
Grubb said he didn't think his company was responsible for the crisis, because the federal
"We do not bear any responsibility, not even 1%, because we are working within a framework the government has provided us and we do not prescribe," he said. "We're making an ingredient."
Grubb acknowledged his company didn't have to produce as much of the active ingredients as the
Also testifying Wednesday were
Carter testified the
The board has referred cases involving doctors to other agencies for potential criminal prosecution, but it's not a common thing, he said.
Zimmer testified the
Zimmer said the board has no specific guidelines on the number of improper prescriptions one of its physicians can write before disciplinary action will be imposed and the board does not refer doctors it has investigated to other agencies for potential criminal prosecution.
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