USE OF TOPICALS CAN REDUCE OPIOID USE

Opioid abuse has cost thousands of deaths and billions of dollars spent each year on medical costs; in response, deep discussions of specialty pharmacy has begun among industry leaders. John Holtzman, DPM, a board certified podiatrist based in St. Louis, MO, is spreading the word about his utilization of topical and specialty pharmacy in lieu of opioid prescriptions. “With the increasing amounts of deaths caused by opioids and the possibility of addiction to opioids, I use a lot of topical anti-inflammatories on the skin because it is effective and we can achieve direct pain relief without prescribing opioids,” says Dr. Holtzman. 

 

Dr. John Holtzman

 

“Compounding pharmacy gives physicians more flexibility to add, increase, or decrease medications to a topical which you are not able to do with opioid pills. When applied to the skin, topical creams are a direct delivery of medications and very little is absorbed into the bloodstream, so it is not going to throw off any medications the patient may be taken orally. With topical creams, I am also able to decrease oral medications and supply my patients with a topical cream containing the same medication [they were taking orally] or even a different drug that may work better,” says Dr. Holtzman.

 

Source: Reading Eagle [12/26/19]

Courtesy of Barry Block, editor of PM News