NY Times: DEA crackdown means delays for some patients in need of pain meds

The New York Times: Increased scrutiny by the Drug Enforcement Administration may be causing painful delays for patients who need narcotic drugs. "Roland Lorenz has surgical screws in his back and neck and a pin in his upper leg, and when his pain reared up one recent weekend, he knew he needed something strong. He had just been to a pain clinic, where the doctor ordered an increase in his dosage of Percocet, a narcotic. It took two days to get the painkiller." As a nursing home resident, Lorenz used to get such drugs quickly as physicians called in pharmacy orders. But, because of D.E.A. investigations, his nursing home newly required a written prescription, a change of habit for patients and physicians (Leland, 10/2).

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This article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.