Search: “Pain is the fifth vital sign”

There was a very strong campaign to re-educate physicians to not consider pain as only a symptom. It was suggested that there was liability in not treating pain for the sake of getting rid of pain alone, but mostly it didn’t just change prescribing practices out of fear of liability, the focus of attention on pain changed prescribing habits.

In practice, someone who hardly has enough time for the patients they see, may subconsciously think that in spite of the prevalence of national opioid deaths, no one they treat has died or destroyed their lives through addiction, simply because those who do also stop booking appointments.

These letters sound like a great idea.