Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Death by Fentanyl -- The New Documentary is Filled with Inaccuracies

 I was awake in the middle of the night and watched this Documentary which left me disturbed as I'm guessing the creators intended -- however, I was disturbed because of the impact it might have including increasing discrimination against patients who have pain management issues. I decided to fact check. I called the FDA and checked out the statements in the video. I learned the statements were inaccurate and luckily, the FDA Drug Info person didn't have to rely on my memory because the Fusion people documented the inaccuracies on their web site. One example:

'Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin. It’s so potent that an amount
the size of three grains of sugar is lethal to an adult. First
synthesized in the 1960s by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, fentanyl was
initially used as a general anesthetic during surgery. Its only
acceptable, “on-label” use is for reduction of severe pain in
cancer-sufferers.'

The fact that the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Maura Healy appears in this video lends credibility to the message contained. However, it would have been a good idea if Mrs. Healy or her staff would have fact checked before appearing in the video. Now patients in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts will be subjected to discrimination for using appropriately prescribed medications such as Fentanyl. It is already challenging to deal with pain management in conditions such as Spinal Cord Injury without having to deal with a Media Campaign to discredit patients who have pain management issues. 





Death by Fentanyl

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