Mark's Musings - February 10

Below is an aggregation of the stories I posted on LinkedIn since my last edition. I curate them through the prism of an "intersection of chronic pain and appropriate treatment" and so they come attached with my opinion.

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Eden Prairie Police launches new initiative to help keep employees emotionally, physically healthy (233 views)

In light of the growing #WorkersComp presumptions around the country for law enforcement and a growing trend to reduce the stigma of mental health issues so people will seek care, a "check-up from the neck up" makes a lot of sense. In part to deal with an increasing number of police officer suicides, this Eden Prairie program is dedicating that "every staff member, sworn and civilian, will meet privately once a year with a mental health professional." Following is one of the key arguments for those that have advocated for presumptive acceptance of issues like PTSD:

"Whether it be an exposure to a particularly traumatic event or it could be the cumulative effect of going into that emotional harm's way for a prolonged career ... Are we doing enough to make sure we take care of our staff for what they see and what they experience?"

Implementing "check-up from the neck up" for someone under those circumstances is not just the right thing to do but could also be a bottom line way to proactively identify concerns before they become debilitating. Like a #WorkersComp claim.

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Just 1% of providers prescribed half of all opioid doses in 2017 (403 views)

You've heard about the 80/20 rule? Well, at least in 2017, with Rx #opioids it's more the 99/1 rule. The good news is that increasingly ER doctors are not in that one percent ... "ER Opioid Prescriptions Drop By 31 Percent." Why is that important? "Research has shown that 17 percent of patients who filled their first opioid prescription for a minor (MP: note - "minor") painful condition were still using the drugs one year later (MP: 365 days for "minor" pain?)." Obviously, education on "Appropriate, Not Zero, Opioid" use is still required for the one percent.

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A different Ctrl-Alt-Del (140 views)

Thanks for sharing this, Tyrone Spears! Great advice, whether on your way into meetings or creating better ways to manage #ChronicPain. I started my professional life in technology, first with mainframe computers and then as the second employee in the "Micro PC Department" to rollout desktop computers throughout an organization in 1983. So when I think of Ctrl-Alt-Del I think of reset. That concept fits perfectly with this graphic. If you lack control or have negativity, you may need to "reboot" your approach to life by changing your thinking (and behavior).

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Australia's opioid crisis: How pain management got out of control (599 views)

Just in case you thought the #opioid epidemic was solely a U.S. problem, read how the same scourge is happening in Australia. There were 8,421 opioid-related deaths from 2010 thru 2016, but "today at least three people die from opioid harm in Australia a day, while 150 more are hospitalised." And history is repeating itself - "the same companies that have been linked to - and are being sued over - the US crisis, including Purdue Pharma (thru Mundipharma), are using similar marketing tactics to promote their products in Australia." Thanks to my friend on the front lines there, Rosemary McKenzie-Ferguson, for sharing this story with me so I could share it with you. On 5/7/17 I documented ("Congressional representatives warn WHO of OxyContin maker's global push") that the U.S. Congress had warned the WHO (World Health Organization) about Mundipharma. Unfortunately, what they warned about has come to be. Via conversation with another friend of mine on the front lines, Kathy Hubble, Australia also has a significant struggle with benzodiazepines, gabapentin and pregablin. Unfortunately, the U.S. and Australia are eerily similar in the scope and source of the problem. Because Australia is a few years behind the U.S. in trajectory of this debacle, hopefully they can learn from our mistakes - and progress - to lessen the overall societal impact.

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Stop Saying "I'm Sorry for Your Loss" (364 views)

For your consideration: The introduction of #ChronicPain into your life can start a grieving process. Who you used to be before it's arrival is likely not who you'll be afterwards. Everybody grieves differently and at their own pace. The source makes grief different (the death of a loved one vs. the doctor cannot fix the fibromyalgia). It is universally agreed upon there are five stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. "Many people work very hard to convince us that grief can be overcome. A different perspective in the healing process is that grief will always be present. There will never be a day when we wake up and forget the missing elements of our lives." So if you're the one with #ChronicPain, or you're their caregiver/friend/clinician/payer, recognize that grief is natural and part of the healing process. And whatever the path or pace, the goal is always "acceptance." The same kind of grieving process can occur with a #WorkersComp injury. Even in the short-term recovery process, but especially if there will be lasting effects, a lot goes thru an injured worker's thought process. Finances, relationships, employment opportunities, self-esteem, social interaction, the overwhelmingly complicated work comp system. And, of course, the pain. When it looks like any of those are going to be more than just temporarily impacted, the grieving process will happen (whether you call it that or not). Any time you lose something - big or small, tangible or intangible, partially or fully - you are going to have to come to grips that it's gone. Do not underestimate what that means to someone with new #ChronicPain or a #WorkersComp injury. It's real. And it needs to be dealt with appropriately. Ignoring grief doesn't solve it. It actually makes it more virulent. Getting to "acceptance" means you can move on to the "new normal."

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In addition, I published two blogposts:

• "Mark's Musings - February 4" on February 5
• "Its Time to Fix Chronic Pain" on February 7 by WorkCompWire

And I published a new video on my YouTube channel:

• "The Upload, Episode 5 - With Susan Shemanski" on February 3

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"It's Never the Wrong Time to do the Right Thing" - Martin Luther King, Jr.

#PreventTheMess + #CleanUpTheMess = The Answer.