PRESCRIPTION OF OPIOIDS FOR TREATMENT OF PAIN IN PATIENTS WITH ADDICTIVE DISEASE

Addiction medicine specialists and pain specialists can provide better patient care by combining their expertise when treating patients who are addicted to alcohol, street drugs, or prescription medications. Ad diction specialists-particularly those whose primary treatment philoso phy is drug free-must accept that controlled opiate maintenance is app ropriate for some patients, and pain specialists need to increase thei r sensitivity to the possibility of addiction among their patients. Bo th pain and addiction are treatable conditions, and optimal care of so me patients requires the coordinated services of both an addiction med icine specialist and a pain specialist.