Fight the Opioid Crisis with Opioids?

Fight Fire with Fire is certainly and age-old adage. And Philadelphia’s plan to open up “injection sites” where anyone can walk-up and use their drugs under medical supervision is certainly gaining a lot of attention. Opponents call it enabling illicit drug use and essentially legalizing drugs. Proponents call it better than the current situation where last year this one city alone saw 1,200 people died from a fatal overdose in 2016.

Our Approach to Address the Epidemic

We believe, as we wrote in a previous blog that we need to take a more strategic view in our response and first identify those individuals at high risk from developing an opioid addiction or of having an overdose – and treat those individuals in accordance with their risk factors. That is the solution we are working towards.

Our approach is to help the medical community treat individuals, and their underlying pain, in a way that brings them comfort and does not expose them to the risks associated with opioid and narcotic use. Our risk stratification – that we provide to the medical community – allows physicians and pharmacies to work with patients & their families to make the best care decision on a case-by-case basis.

Pain management alternatives to Opioids

Many may be surprised to learn that there are medically recognized treatments for pain beyond opioids. Some patients may be well served by over-the-counter pain medication, others may be able to safely use opioids if given for a short duration such as a day or two. In other cases, avoiding narcotics entirely may be the best approach. However, the specific approach to treating pain and pain management will ultimately be best left to the physician and patient.

For further information on our effort and planned clinical trials, please contact Ajay Gupta.

One thing that all sides should agree to is that the epidemic has raged on despite all current efforts – and we must try something new. Something that we have not previously tried.