The American Medical Association released a 17-page letter providing comment addressing the CDC opioid guideline update.
In 2016, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a guideline for the medical community regarding prescribing and managing opioids in light of the concerns about the growth of opioid overdose deaths and abuse. In addressing the opioid crisis, the AMA highlights the unintended consequenses of the guideline for pain patients, many of whom had experienced success on long-term opioid medications, enabling them to resume more productive lives than their untreated pain conditions had previously allowed. A summary of the AMA response is provided by Pain News Network as is the full AMA letter to the CDC.