Rules protect doctors who prescribe narcotics

WASHINGTON – Doctors cannot be arrested for properly prescribing narcotic painkillers that are the best treatment for millions of suffering patients, according to new guidelines from pain specialists and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The guidelines, written by leading pain specialists together with the DEA, were created because many doctors hesitate to prescribe the powerful drugs, which are heavily regulated because they can be abused by addicts.

The new document for the first time spells out the exact steps doctors should take to ensure their patients get appropriate medical care without attracting DEA scrutiny. The idea is to get better pain treatment for Americans.

“There are many misconceptions about DEA’s role … that lead to unwarranted fear that doctors who treat pain aggressively are singled out,” said Patricia Good, DEA’s chief of prescription drug diversion.

The DEA regulates how doctors prescribe drugs that are controlled substances, such as opioid painkillers – morphine, codeine, fentanyl, Oxycontin – to ensure they’re not diverted for illegal use. Undertreatment of chronic, serious pain is considered a major medical problem. Painkillers known as opioids are considered standard of care for serious pain from cancer, AIDS and among the terminally ill – yet about 40 percent of those patients are undertreated, said Dr. Russell Portenoy, a leading pain specialist.