Together with several of his colleagues in the battle for pain patients’ rights, Richard “Red” Lawhern, Ph.D. recently unveiled a new organization, the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain (ATIP).
ATIP is a collaboration of pain patient advocates and activists calling for the immediate withdrawal of the guidelines published by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding prescription of opiates to adult non-cancer, chronic pain patients. The grounds for this challenge include exceptionally poor science, professional bias, and known harms to patients and doctors in the arbitrary withdrawal of care.
Red is the spouse of a chronic facial pain patient. He has advocated for pain patients and their family members for twenty years with online research, physician referrals, authoring of websites and critical commentaries. From Red’s website:
“I retired as a systems engineer and operations research analyst… In my so-called spare time, I support an online community called “Living with TN” as a moderator and content author, providing literature and internet research to chronic face pain patients. I also mentor young people who are struggling with life in our times.”
Have You Been Affected Adversely by the CDC Opioid Prescribing Guidelines?
You can help!
- We need reports of denial of treatment leading to diminished quality of life and/or suicide among our communities. Even if you don’t have a name, please provide gender, city, state, age, date of the suicide – whatever demographic information you have.
- We also need testimonials concerning what tapering/stopped medications has done to your health and well being. Please include your diagnosis, how loved ones are affected, if you have had to leave your job, file for disability, etc. Tell us if you or a (healthy) loved one has been denied adequate pain relief during or after a surgery/injury, or are canceling/postponing surgery because of the new pain laws.
- We also need the names of any doctors who have had to leave or retire from medicine due to the government’s opioid prescribing guidelines, and whether your doctor has received threatening letters from authorities regarding opioid prescribing.
We will keep your identities confidential if you request. But your testimony may have far more impact if you are willing to put your name on it and have it published.
Please email: painpatientinformation@gmail.com
Join the “Boots on the Ground” Battle
In order to be heard over the din of opioid misinformation and falsehoods, ATIP needs you! Below you will find tools and tips for making yourself heard in the Fight for Pain Patients’ Rights
How to Take Effective Action in the Fight for Patients’ Rights
- Click to read “Taking Action: Tips for Getting Our Voices Heard”
- Look up the phone numbers and locations of the nearest local offices of your Senators and Congressional Representatives.
To use the finder below, select “Members” in the drop down and type your state in the text box. For example:
- Arm yourself with current and accurate information our library of Red’s writings on the topic of opioid policy and pain patients’ rights. (see below)
- Download the following document for your use in lobbying your Congressional representatives.
Forewarned is forearmed.
Read up so you’re ready to counter any false claims with hard facts.
