1 Out of 12 Doctors Collecting Opiod Bonuses

The Hippocratic Oath has been taken by physicians since it was written, which was between the 4th to the 5th century BC. Hippocrates was given credit for this oath that carries his name. Historians now believe that he did not write it, but did however popularize it.

At the heart of this "sacred" oath is to "First do no harm". Can it in any way be thought that a doctor that freely gives out something that is so addicting and has killed so many people, possibly be true to the Hippocratic Oath?

In addition, the thought that doctors receive any type of financial reward for prescribing opioids is unconscionable and in my opinion should be criminal.

More than 33,000 Americans were killed by opioids in 2015, and nearly half of them involved prescriptions. I personally know 3 people who, in the last 5 years, have succumb to opioid related deaths.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) statistics indicate that on the average, 91 Americans die from opioid overdoses each and every day. That is 91 too many.

Those numbers keep rising, nearly quadrupling since 2015. We are headed in the wrong direction and this trend must be reversed.

The CDC noted. "Sales of opioid pain medication have increased in parallel with opioid-related overdose deaths."

It's appalling, as well as shocking that with all of these opioid overdose deaths, the pharmaceutical industry would still be making bonus payments to physicians who prescribe the most opioids. As crazy as this sounds, this is exactly what is occurring, according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

With all of those facts and statistics, doctors should only be prescribing opiates as a last resort. By a last resort, I mean that all other natural treatments and less aggressive medical treatment protocols have been exhausted and the patient is to the point that they are in so much pain that they can't tolerate it, but that is far from what is going on today.

There are many natural and successful treatments for chronic pain. Many of patients that have been prescribed opiods have been given these options:

1. Chiropractic Care - For patients that are in chronic pain, I particularly like Koren Specific Technique.

2. Cold Laser Therapy - I have been using cold laser therapy in my practice for over 10 years with great success.

3. Physical Therapy

4. Acupuncture

5. Exercise

6. Meditation

7. EFT Tapping

8. Massage

9. The following supplements have been associated with pain reduction, but you should consult your doctor and pharmacist prior to taking them, to make sure that there are no contraindications with anything that you are already taking; astaxanthin, ginger, curcumin, boswellia, bromelain, cetyl myristoleate (CMO), cayenne cream, evening primrose, black currant and borage oils.

10. Dietary Changes and Additional Pain Relief Options

a. Start taking a high-quality, animal-based omega-3 fat, such as krill oil.

b. Eliminate your intake of processed foods

c. Radically reduce inflammation producing grains and sugars

d. Eat plenty of whole foods, including greens, vegetables and some fruit

e. Optimize your vitamin D levels

11. I have personally been doing extensive research into pain reduction, using tourmaline infused fabrics, which generate far infrared energy, negative ions and Schumann Resonances, which are also generated by the earth. Our company is FIR Industries.

If anyone wants more information on this, please feel free to contact me.

From Mercola.com - 1 in 12 Doctors Being Paid by Drug Companies Marketing Opioids:

Using the online Open Payments Program from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, researchers studied opioid-related payments to physicians between August 2013 and December 2015.

More than 375,000 non-research opioid-related payments were made to more than 68,000 physicians, totaling more than $46 million. This amounts to 1 in 12 U.S. physicians collecting money from drug companies producing prescription opioids.

The top 1% of physicians received nearly 83% of the payments, and the drug fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that can be anywhere from 500 to 1,000% more potent than morphine, was associated with the highest payments. Many of the states struggling with the highest rates of overdose deaths, such as Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey, were also those showing the most opioid-related payments to physicians.

Also unsettling, family physicians received the most payments (close to 1 in 5 family medicine doctors was a recipient), which is "an indicator that opioids are being really heavily marketed for pain," Dr. Scott Hadland, the study's author, told The Washington Post. "The next step is to understand these links between payments … and prescribing practices and overdose deaths," he said. "It's very common that the first opioid … [many people are] ever exposed to is from a prescription."

What To Do?

1. A big step to stop this opiod crises is to stop the pharmaceutical companies from bonusing doctors for prescribing these drugs. This must be done through changes in the law. If you want to take action, contact your state representatives, as well as your US Senators and Congressmen.

2. Another big step would be to educate doctors to give their patients more natural alternatives and less dangerous medical protocols for chronic pain relief, prior to prescribing opiods.

3. The top 1% of the doctors on the take, who are getting nearly 83% of these pharmaceutical kick backs for pushing opioids, should be exposed and have their names published in their local newspapers.

If it was up to me, the top 1% of these drug pushing doctors, who are making about 83% of this blood money, would have their licenses to practice medicine suspended and be thrown in jail, right along with the drug pushers from the streets. On top of that, if they are found to be negligently writing prescriptions for opiods and their patient dies, they should be charged with criminally negligent homicide.

Well, fortunately for them, I am not in charge, but if we all put a full court press of pressure on our politicians, the voice of the people will be heard and we can make these things happen.

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