We support policies that promote cautious, evidence-based prescribing of opioids and other controlled drugs.
PROP joins public health groups and opioid crisis organizations in opposing Woodcock nomination for FDA Commissioner
In a letter penned by several groups including The Fed Up! Coalition, Public Citizen and many more, PROP is urging the Biden administration to reject Acting Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock’s potential nomination for Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Her failed record and dereliction of duty as the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) leader has resulted in poor decision-making regarding opioid prescriptions and guidelines. Read the complete letter here and the Guardian article. Our concerns about FDA’s opioid decision-making were echoed in an additional letter from a group of prominent scientists.
Opioid prescribing groups support bill to give patients vital warning information
The bill, based on a NJ law passed in 2017, requires prescribers to notify patients or their parents and guardians about the addictive nature of opioids, as well as non-opioid alternatives available, prior to prescribing an opioid. The Opioid Patients’ Right to Know Act would create a grant program to incentivize states to require prescribers to discuss the addictive qualities of the drugs with patients and inform them of alternative treatment options before prescribing them for acute pain. PROP joined several other opioid prescribing and advocacy groups in support of this bill. Read more about this bill introduced to US Congress here.
PROP Submits Comment to CDC Docket on Acute and Chronic Pain
In a comment to a CDC docket, PROP urges CDC to stay on course and NOT weaken its opioid prescribing recommendations.
PROP WEIGHS IN AGAINST FDA APPROVAL OF OXYCODEGOL
In a comment to the FDA docket, PROP urges FDA to reject Nektar Therapeutics new drug application for Oxycodegol.
HHS Pain Management Task Force
In 2015, when the CDC was finalizing its guideline calling for more cautious opioid prescribing, opioid makers did their best to block CDC from releasing the document. A Purdue Pharma-funded group threatened litigation against CDC and a Congressional Committee was asked by opioid front groups to investigate CDC. When they failed to block CDC from releasing the guideline, opioid makers came up with a new tactic- they lobbied for creation of the HHS Pain Management Task Force (PMTF) with representatives from opioid front groups. Their goal was to create alternative prescribing guidance that would compete with the CDC Guideline and they pretty much succeeded.
PROP sent Secretary Azar a letter expressing our concern about the draft report after an early draft was made public. Senator Wyden also sent Secretary Azar a letter outlining concerns about financial ties between some of the PMTF members and opioid makers.
We believe that PROP’s advocacy led to minor improvements – for example, some of the language that explicitly contradicted the CDC Guideline was removed. But overall the final report is still a step backwards. It includes language supporting the dangerous and inappropriate combination of opioids and benzodiazepines and language opposing guidance for prescribers on dose and duration.
PROP JOINED OTHER GROUPS PETITIONING THE FDA FOR REMOVAL OF ULTRA HIGH DOSAGE UNIT OPIOIDS
On August 31, 2017, International Overdose Awareness Day, PROP joined the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), the FED UP! Coalition, National Safety Council and Shatterproof in a petition to the FDA for the removal of ultra high dosage opioids from the market.
View news coverage of the petition: TODAY Show, CNN, The Seattle Times, Markets Insider, MedPage Today,
PROP URGES FDA TO FIX OPIOID REMS PRESCRIBER CURRICULUM
PROP submitted a comment letter to the federal docket urging FDA to fix its draft curriculum for the opioid REMS. FDA’s draft curriculum is not consistent with recommendations from the CDC and the VA/DOD calling for more cautious prescribing.
CMS responds to PROP petition on patient satisfaction
We are pleased to announce that CMS has agreed to remove the financial incentive for prescribing pain medication. Starting in October 2017, scores on the pain medication questions will be removed from Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program. CMS wrote in its letter to PROP, “We believe this will help eliminate any unintended confusion and pressure to overprescribe pain medication.”
We are grateful to the all the hospitalists, emergency medicine docs, nurses and other folks who brought this issue to PROP’s attention.
Joint Commission Responds Defensively to PROP Request for revised pain standards
Last spring, when PROP petitioned CMS, the same coalition of organizations, state health officials, and medical experts sent The Joint Commission (TJC) a letter requesting revisions to their pain standards. Unfortunately, TJC responded defensively to our request. It issued public statements denying any relationship between its Pain Management Standards and opioid overprescribing.
TJC even denied having participated in the ‘Pain is the Fifth Vital Sign’ campaign, which is strange because the slogan was used in widely distributed Joint Commission materials.
The Opioid Lobby Spent $880 Million to Influence Federal and State Government
The Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity teamed up to investigate the influence of pharmaceutical companies on state and federal policies regarding opioids. The news agencies tracked proposed laws on the subject and analyzed data on how the companies and their allies deployed lobbyists and contributed to political campaigns. Findings from their investigation were published as a two-part series carried by newspapers across the US and abroad. You can click here to learn more about the investigation.
PROP petitions CMS for removal of the HCAHPS pain questions
HCAHPS Letter- Final 04 11 16
Pursuant to section 553(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act, the undersigned organizations and individuals submit this Petition requesting that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) remove questions pertaining to pain treatment from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) Survey.
PROP organizes coalition seeking changes to Joint Commission’s Pain Standards
TJC Letter – Final 04 11 16
The undersigned organizations and individuals are writing to request that the Joint Commission reexamine the Pain Management Standards (PC.01.02.07, PC.01.02.01 RI.01.01.01). Although we commend TJC for its recent clarification of PC.01.02.07, affirming that treatment strategies may include non-pharmacological approaches, we believe the Pain Management Standards continue to encourage unnecessary, unhelpful and unsafe pain treatments that interfere with primary disease management.
Bill to de-link HCAHPS pain questions from hospital reimbursement, PROP Act, receives bi-partisan support
Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), joined by his colleagues Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), introduced legislation Thursday to reduce the pressure doctors currently face that may lead to overprescribing painkilling drugs called opioids.
PROP comments on the draft National Pain Strategy
Last May, PROP submitted a comment to the National Institutes of Health on its proposed National Pain Strategy. We objected to the proposal for a so-called “safe use campaign” for opioid prescribing and instead called for an educational campaign that discourages opioid use for conditions where risks are likely to outweigh benefits.