Pharma has long marketed opioids in ways that contribute to opioid use disorder and deaths by overdose. Regulatory mistakes in approving and labeling new analgesics by the FDA didn’t make us safer.
Dr Travis Rieder discusses his own experiences with opioids and the ethical challenges of “legacy patients,” and Dr Stephanie Zaza, president of the American College of Preventive Medicine, discusses the future of opioid research priorities.
A lack of consensus guidelines or a belief that current evidence does not support such guidelines might be justified if a clinician expresses a commitment to patient-centered care and shared decision making.
Parents’ false beliefs can be engaged respectfully to motivate deliberations about shared values and goals, but refusal of clinically indicated treatment could warrant reporting.
Stephanie L. Samuels, MD and Wilma C. Rossi, MD, MBE
When a parent resists a physician's recommendation for a pediatric patient, physician-parent partnering can promote the patient's best interest and help encourage lifestyle changes.