NORMAN J CLEMENT RPH., DDS, NORMAN L. CLEMENT PHARM-TECH, MALACHI F. MACKANDAL PHARMD, BELINDA BROWN-PARKER, IN THE SPIRIT OF JOSEPH SOLVO ESQ., INC.T. SPIRIT OF REV. C.T. VIVIAN, JELANI ZIMBABWE CLEMENT, BS., MBA., IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HON. PATRICE LUMUMBA, IN THE SPIRIT OF ERLIN CLEMENT SR., WALTER F. WRENN III., MD., JULIE KILLINGWORTH, LESLY POMPY MD., CHRISTOPHER RUSSO, MD., NANCY SEEFELDT, WILLIE GUINYARD BS., JOSEPH WEBSTER MD., MBA, BEVERLY C. PRINCE MD., FACS., NEIL ARNAND, MD., RICHARD KAUL, MD., LEROY BAYLOR, JAY K. JOSHI MD., MBA, ADRIENNE EDMUNDSON, ESTER HYATT PH.D., WALTER L. SMITH BS., IN THE SPIRIT OF BRAHM FISHER ESQ., MICHELE ALEXANDER MD., CUDJOE WILDING BS, MARTIN NJOKU, BS., RPH., IN THE SPIRIT OF DEBRA LYNN SHEPHERD, BERES E. MUSCHETT, STRATEGIC ADVISORS
A strong message
Joseph Falzone MD;
“Let me tell you what’s been happening in my neocortex recently.
The first thing that comes to mind is that our issue with the opioid boycott is more than just a failure to treat our chronic pain adequately; it is a metaphor for a complete absence of quality medical care.
A massive government overreach of power changing the rules to make arrests piles up more scalps attempting to make heroes of what can best be identified as domestic terrorists. The DOJ-Dea repeatedly crosses the line.
They don’t believe in anything but power, and thousands of people under treatment for chronic pain have Parished. Suicide is up, particularly among our veterans. The courts must put a stop to this and send a strong message.”
THE criminalization OF SICKLE CELL DISORDER
These people was Nurses,Dentists, Pharmacists, Physicians, They are was not a frauds?!!
Most sickle cell patients can have pain that could be measured as an 8 or 9 and they can keep their composure when most people would be crying or screaming out for help, people with sickle cell may sit and listen to music, talk on the phone or do something to act as a distraction.
Coping with pain on a long-term basis allows the individual to develop a level of tolerance that thankfully most people never have to understand.
However, with this tolerance comes the misconception that these patients are not in the type of pain they claim to be in. This causes many of these patients to be misjudged and mistreated, often starting in the Emergency Room.
In the ER, these patients are often made to wait for hours, suffering in pain because someone has decided they are not in pain at the level they claim to be at or that they are simply there seeking the pain medication.
THE PROFILING
SICKLE CELL DISEASE YEARS OF POOR TREATMENT
For many of these patients, the decision to go to the Emergency Room versus attempting to make it through the night and go into the clinic in the morning, where the staff knows them, is one of the first triggers of the stress they must cope with.
Years of poor treatment in the ER setting have conditioned many in the adult population to consider any other alternative before deciding to go to the Emergency Room.
To paraphrase Dr. Shravani Durbhakula, MD, MPH, an Anesthesiologist from her Opinion in the New York Times, “DEA OUT OF MEDICINE,”March 22, 2024;
“My profession makes me acutely aware of opioid risks, including addiction and overdose, but at times, and under careful dosing and monitoring, opioids are the right choice for our patients. Still, some healthcare providers are reluctant to prescribe them, even for cancer pain, where opioids are a mainstay of treatment. Many cited opioid dispensing at pharmacies as a barrier.
This is concerning since untreated pain is associated with decreased immunity, a worsening of depression, reduced mobility and adverse effects on quality of life. Ineffective pain management has also been associated with increased medical costs. Among people with sickle cell disease, for instance, 10 percent of patients account for 50 percent of emergency room visits. Although they suffer from other possibly contributing disorders, the common feature among them is chronic pain.
Dangerous prescription drugs require safeguards, but a scalpel has more promise than a sledgehammer. The D.E.A., an agency staffed with law enforcement officials, is not equipped to distinguish appropriate from inappropriate prescribing, and it has in the past apparently confused inappropriate with a criminal.
Instead of defining medical aptness, the D.E.A. should pass the baton to our nation’s public health agencies.”
…DEA’s NARCheck Score Creates Institutional Discrimination Against Humans Afflicted with Sickle Cell Disease…
PDMP PERMITS PHARMACIST TOP PROFILE AND WITHHOLD PATIENTS IN NEED OF PAIN HEALTHCARE TREATMENT WITHOUT PUTTING IT IN WRITING
Pharmacist Renee Blare writes on the role of PDMP:
Only providers and pharmacists should be able to access the PDMP, and then ONLY IN THE CAPACITY OF a specific patient’s care. In this, I mean to check dosages filled and when of specific medications, verify patient records per patient verbal and written history in the doctor’s office, and check for any duplicate therapy and cash purchases that would put the patient at risk for overdose.
Pain and pain therapy can inhibit short-term memory. They should not be used to deny or accuse the patient unless a repeated pattern is discovered.
The PDMP is a database for discovery and treatment for the provider and pharmacy NOT LAW ENFORCEMENT. It was meant to help facilitate safer therapy. Period. Not facilitate easier prosecutions. It was meant for in-house and continuance-of-care use only, not to be infiltrated by outside sources. Why? to protect the privacy of the patient.
If ANYONE ELSE IS TO ACCESS THIS SYSTEM, it was to require a subpoena. Not a warrant. And would need a very specific purpose and set of records. It was meant to be VERY DIFFICULT TO DO. ONLY THROUGH THE STATE BOARDS OF PHARMACY AND THEN WITH A LOT OF RED TAPE.
SICKLE CELL DISEASE WAS EXCLUDED FROM CDC OPIOID GUIDELINES HOWEVER, RACIAL PROFILING PREVAILED
“Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) chronic lower limb wounds are known to be worse to heal and stay healed than diabetic wounds, arterial, or vascular wounds. SCD lower limb wounds are very painful.
However, Medicare and private insurers refuse to cover prescribed custom orthotics, shoes, and wound treatments (e.g., Regranex gel, Apligraf), which diabetics get full coverage for or with only a 20% copay.
I’ve had seven different physicians and surgeons prescribe that I should have at least two sets of custom orthotics and at least one pair of custom deep-depth shoes every year.
For 50 years, I’ve had inoperable bunions and a chronic ankle wound off and on for 44 years, with over ten graft surgeries.
In 2012, I survived multiple organ failures with gangrene of both hands and feet that left me with severe neuropathy of both feet and both hands.
I worked full-time in hospital labs for 28 years, and I’m now on SSD and cannot afford one pair of custom orthotics ($400) or custom shoes. I ask that Sickle Cell Disease be added to Medicare Part B Coverage for Foot Care, Therapeutic Inserts and Shoes, Skin Substitutes, and Blood-Derived Products such as Regranex.
Glinda
Thank you.
FOR NOW, YOU ARE WITHIN
THE NORMS
