The MEDD myth: the impact of pseudoscience on pain research and prescribing-guideline development

Jeffrey Fudin,¹ Jacqueline Pratt Cleary,² Michael E Schatman<sup>3

1</sup>Western New England University College of Pharmacy, Springfield, MA, ²Stratton VA Medical Center, Albany, NY, ³US Pain Foundation, Bellevue, WA, USA

With the opioid-misuse and -abuse problem on the rise, pain practitioners and lawmakers are scrambling for strategies to help mitigate opioid risks. Approaches include opioid-treatment agreements, urine drug testing, prescription-monitoring programs, assorted validated risk-assessment tools for abuse/misuse and opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD), biopsychosocial support, and other strategies.^1–3 Nonopioid pain therapies should be considered and maximized prior to initiating opioid treatment; however, in some cases opioids are the optimal choice for both noncancer and cancer-related pain syndromes.⁴

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