August 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 8
OxyContin: On the front line
Family physician Robert Drake, M.D., of Somerset, Ky., welcomed OxyContin when it was introduced in 1996. But since then, he says his willingness to prescribe it has waned because of its abuse in Appalachian towns such as his. Now, he says he reserves it for terminal patients and those with osteoporotic fractures whose pain has been unresponsive to other drugs or to surgery.
In patients for whom addiction is less of a concern than pain relief, OxyContin is "wonderful," says Drake.
But even patients who use OxyContin justifiably for pain control are wary of the stigma attached to it, he says: They don't want to be seen at the local Wal-Mart picking up their prescriptions.
Although Drake rarely prescribes OxyContin -- he estimates that about eight patients out of 7,000 in his practice use it -- he says he needs to continue to have this drug as an option.
"I think that family physicians should have the opportunity to use this product, but we have to use it cautiously and realize it has extreme potential for abuse," he says.
And although he's prescribing it less, it's out of concern for his patients, says Drake, not fear of government oversight.
"Our ultimate concern should always be what is best for the patients and morally and legally correct, and then we'll be able to defend that," he says.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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