09-17-2023 GAR - Flipbook - Page 8
8 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Sunday, September 17, 2023
Finding Alternatives to
Opioids for Pain Management
NOPAIN Act May Help Increase Access to Non-opioid Treatments
By Katie Turner, Contributing Writer
N
ews about the opioid
epidemic,
overdoses and drug-related
deaths, and efforts
to stem the tide of addiction are
common headlines. In Maryland,
2,590 people died from a fatal
overdose of opioids in 2022, according to the Maryland Opioid
Operational Command Center,
and nearly 8,600 people were
treated at a hospital emergency
room for a non-fatal opioid overdose that same year.
Yet, at the same time patients are
being admitted for opioid overdoses, other patients are leaving with
prescriptions for opioid pain medications. While these drugs are highly
effective at treating severe pain from
traumatic injuries, cancers and other
major medical conditions, the CDC
states that for chronic pain, such as
osteoarthritis or low back pain, there
is no evidence to support long-term
effectiveness. According to the CDC,
anyone who takes opioid medication
is at risk for addiction, and as many
as one in four patients receiving longterm opioid therapy struggles with
opioid use disorder.
So why prescribe these medications,
especially when there are many proven alternatives to pain management?
Simply put, opioids are more cost-effective. Currently, Medicare provides
Photos above: Gabby Mace, Jennum O’Hara and Laura Barrett-Nutting
the same reimbursement for opioid
and non-opioid pain management
treatments provided at a hospital or
outpatient center. Because opioids are
less expensive, there is a disincentive
for providers to use a non-opioid alternative.
A recent bill seeks to change that.
The NOPAIN act, which will go into
effect in 2025, directs Medicare to
provide separate reimbursement for
opioid and non-opioid treatments,
which could expand access to alternative therapies for patients in need of
pain management care.
Treating pain is complicated, and
the right therapy depends on factors
like the cause, duration, intensity and
dozens of other factors including in-
dividual patient circumstances and
preferences. For patients who want to
avoid opioids, there are options.
For muscular-skeletal pain, physical therapy can be incredibly beneficial. According to Gabby Mace, DPT,
with Pioneer PT, physical therapy is
highly effective in managing pain, restoring mobility, and helping the body
heal and recover from both acute and
chronic pain.
“Your body is designed to heal itself, and physical therapy helps the
body to do that work,” says Mace.
Physical therapy is about more than
just movement; it also helps calm
your central nervous system, which
reduces pain signals in the brain, explains Mace.
Pain Management
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