Can My Primary Care Physician Prescribe Me My Pain Meds?
Question by I’M A Real Boy: can my primary care physician prescribe me my pain meds?
i went to see my Primary care doctor last week and she asked me if I was still seeing my pain management doctor. i said yes. but i told her that my expieiriece with him has been terrible. we had just moved down to texas from Illinois and i had no way in getting my pain meds so i just went to the first Pain doctor i could find and could get me in the quickest. i was taking methadone for 4 years and the first time i saw him he took me off of it cold turkey. which was hell on earth for me i went through withdrawals for a month straight! he eventually prescribed me pain meds but after that i didn’t trust him. and he obviously doesn’t trust me. he drug tests me every month he does blood work at least 4x’s a year to see if im taking my pain medicine correctly. his front desk people are rude and they treat me like im some sort of junky. when I’ve never done anything to make them think that of me. i just don’t want to be with him anymore. anyways my primary physician said that she could prescribe me my pain meds. is this possible? she said it would help me save money because i wouldn’t have to go see 2 different doctors each month. and the only thing my pain doctor does for me is prescribe me my meds.
Best answer:
Answer by Hal Lancer
Your reaction to the pain management clinic is very common. Many of these clinics are dealing with chronic drug abusers who try every trick on earth to get more pain pills, so clinic staff treats everyone they see as you report, even ones who are not abusing and really need the medication. In defense of pain management clinics, it’s really hard for them to tell the difference. Playing referee when dealing with some people whose pain is exaggerated to get medication for abuse is almost impossible to do fairly and compassionately. It is possible you would do better switching to a different pain management clinic, but far from sure.
On the other hand many PCPs (primary care physicians) have become very reluctant to prescribe pain medication for an extended period to patients. Though patients have a hard time with this concept, one reason for this is that chronic pain is hard for many PCPs to deal with, so they’ll just establish a policy that says after X number of months, “If you still need pain medication, I’ll refer you out for that.” Other doctors get unwanted attention from medical authorities including DEA because they prescribe pain pills long-term, and they’re told they have to stop. One patient’s insurance company also may cut that patient off for coverage for pain medication with a primary care doctor after a time. Some insurance companies are afraid they’re going to have to pay for drug rehab.
All of these reasons and more can force patients into dealing with pain management clinics. So if you have a PCP who will prescribe pain medication for you for now, that’s fine. Legally they have to keep seeing you in person as a patient in most if not all states. And keep in mind that there’s no guarantee for the long-term; they may change their minds or have a regulator or third-party payor tell them they can’t keep giving you prescriptions for pain medication. Some other people have posted here that they were legitimate patients who were getting pain medication from doctors who got busted for providing pain medication for money under the table to other patients who were addicts, and suddenly they’re cut off from their prescription and no other doctor in the area trusts them because of whom their PCP was in the past–this stuff can get very messy. I do sympathize and wish you well.
Answer by dan_brown3
I get what you are saying. Hal Lancer’s explanation of this to you is right on.
My only advice, from what I have done, is to go to a pharmaceutical company’s website. Like pfizer.com. There you can look up their products and even search for a doctor they are contracted with. You will have to spend some time on your health insurer’s website to cross-reference their PCPs with these pharmaceutical contracted doctors, so you can stay “in-network.”
It’s my understanding that doctors that become contracted with pharmaceutical companies get kick-backs and other perks for “promoting” their product. Hmmm, when I think of this it sounds like “legal” drug-dealing. Lol!
On another note, your PCP can prescribe the pain medication. I am not sure why but PCPs also prescribe “depression,” ADHD, ADD, and other psychological based prescriptions and they do not “counsel” patients. I do not get that either.
Best regards,
Daniel
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