Pain expert fears new opioid guidelines could deepen crisis

New opioid guidelines for doctors may reduce prescriptions but with an unintended consequence — the risk of more deaths, an expert in treating chronic pain argued at an Ottawa forum Saturday.
Dr. Greg Murphy, who founded the Kingston Orthopaedic and Pain Institute, said that the 2017 guidelines for Canadian doctors who treat chronic pain unrelated to cancer have “created fear” of prescribing among physicians.
The cause of the current crisis, though, said Murphy, is far more com