September 2001 • Volume 7 • Number 9
Don't cause OxyContin access crisis, says AAFP
The Academy has warned state attorneys general of the possibility of an access crisis if FPs' OxyContin prescribing privileges were limited.
"The Academy is concerned about the illicit use of OxyContin and has addressed the potential for its abuse on many levels," wrote Board Chair Bruce Bagley, M.D., of Albany, N.Y., in an Aug. 15 letter to the attorneys general.
Most recently, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal asked Purdue Pharma, the drug's maker, to institute a physician certification program for the drug and to limit distribution of the drug to physicians who have extensive experience or training in pain management.
Furthermore, the Drug Enforcement Administration might limit OxyContin prescribing to pain specialists -- but the American Board of Pain Medicine lists only 1,179 certified pain specialists nationwide, Bagley wrote. "The solution to the problem of the illegal activities and diversion of this drug is not to impose limits on physicians who are educated and trained to prescribe prescription medication."
Constituent chapter presidents and executives have received letters as well, informing them of the Academy's letter to the state attorneys general. Chapter leaders should share news of educational programs on diversion control or proper pain management with their state attorneys general.
On the national level, the FDA will hold a fact-finding meeting Sept. 13 - 14. Bagley will testify on behalf of the Academy, and AAFP President Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D., of Madison, Wis., will sit on the advisory panel for the hearing.
FP Report is published by the AAFP News Department.
Copyright © 2001 by American Academy of Family Physicians.
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