By Brianna Ehley
08/06/2018 12:20 PM EDT
The Trump administration could soon provide additional guidance for doctors on how to safely limit prescription painkillers following complaints that the national crackdown on opioids has created barriers to treatment for patients with chronic pain.
HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir told POLITICO several agencies within his department are in early discussions about potentially expanding upon opioid prescribing guidelines the CDC issued two years ago that advised primary care doctors to use opioids as a last resort for pain treatment.
The influential 2016 guidelines represented a consensus that doctors needed to curtail opioid prescriptions as overdose deaths were skyrocketing. But in some cases, doctors have cited them as reason to abruptly cut off prescriptions for chronic pain patients, leaving them with no alternative ways to cope with their pain or potential withdrawal symptoms.
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