MMS President Dennis Dimitri
BOSTON -- Ahead of next year's election, Massachusetts doctors over the weekend confirmed their opposition to legalized marijuana, called for prescription drug pricing transparency, and said they remain focused on the opioid epidemic.
The Massachusetts Medical Society set its slate of priorities at a meeting of its policy-making body, but the president of the 25,000-physician organization said one issue has overshadowed much of the other work the group does and remains "by a long shot" its number one priority: combating the epidemic of opioid abuse and deaths.
"With more than 1,000 overdose-related deaths last year, the depth and breadth of the suffering has propelled this issue to the top of the public agenda," MMS President Dennis Dimitri said, according to remarks provided by the organization. "What makes this public health crisis different from any other is that it cuts across many medical specialties (and) ... has engaged more non-medical stakeholders than any other public health issue in memory."
Acknowledging the unintended role that prescribing physicians played in the increasing pervasiveness of opioids, Dimitri said the medical field must walk a fine line between a public health crisis of under-treated pain and one of addiction to opioid medications.
"Unfortunately, in our desire to control pain, physicians unwittingly opened the door to this addiction epidemic," he said. "Addressing both of these issues poses a difficult dilemma -- how do we treat pain, and yet prevent addiction to the very medications that can ease pain?"
Dimitri spoke to the MMA membership about the importance of not forgetting patients who rely on opioid medications to manage chronic pain, and being mindful of the risk that fighting opioid overdoses could victimize or stigmatize those who turn to opioids for legitimate pain management purposes.
"We must have the wisdom to choose the right solutions, the perseverance to stay the course, and never forget those who suffer from pain, as well as those who endure the pain of addiction," he said. "For physicians, there is no more important contribution we can make to ending this crisis."
Though it has raised concerns about the involuntary commitment and prescription limit provisions in Gov. Charlie Baker's opioid legislation, the MMS has supported the governor's efforts to tackle the opioid crisis.
On Saturday, the MMS House of Delegates set policy for the organization, including a reaffirmation of its nearly 20-year opposition to the legalization of marijuana for recreational use, and urged that any proposed legislation supporting marijuana legalization prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from using or possessing the drug.
The issue of cannabis legalization appears likely to go before voters next year as sponsors of a legalization ballot question delivered thousands of signatures to the state's election division last week, another step toward the November 2016 ballot.
The doctors' group agreed to "advocate and educate regarding the adverse public health effects of recreational marijuana use." And they urged that any legislation supporting recreational marijuana include dedicated revenues "for public education and for the prevention and treatment of health consequences to the public, such as substance abuse and addiction, which may be aggravated by the use of recreational marijuana."
The MMS House of Delegates adopted a policy that "women of reproductive age" who report they use marijuana, including for medical use, be counseled about potential adverse health effects and be encouraged to avoid the drug. There is insufficient data on the effects of maternal marijuana use on infants, according to MMS, and its use by women of reproductive age should be discouraged.
The MMS resolved to work with the American Medical Association to push federal regulatory agencies to assure "fair and reasonable" prices for pharmaceuticals, and urged the Legislature and Attorney General Maura Healey to call attention to rising drug prices.
Early findings from the Health Policy Commission's 2015 Cost Trends Report showed that last year's $7.3 billion in pharmacy spending in Massachusetts marked a sharp spike in spending, accounting for 13.5 percent of total health care expenditures.
Among other policies, the MMS House of Delegates also adopted one that states that a school start time no earlier than 8:30 a.m. would be "a beneficial change to the overall health and well-being of middle and high school adolescents."
No comments:
Post a Comment