Tennova Healthcare to stop prescribing opiates for long-term care

Tennova Healthcare, one of Tennessee's largest providers, will no longer prescribe opiate medications for long-term care because the growing risk of addiction and abuse.

The change comes as state legislators signed a bill that would require a certificate of need from the state to own and operate a pain management clinic, as well as requiring clinics to have a specific license issued by the state commissioner.

"Tennova Pain Management Center is committed to providing pain management services responsibly and safely," said Jerry Askew, vice president of external relations for Tennova. "This change was considered for several months in response to changing regulations and increasing national opiate addiction rates, and we began notifying physicians and patients of this decision in early April."

The increase in opiate abuse in the U.S. is a well-known problem seen by many as an epidemic, with nearly 260 million prescriptions written for opioids in 2012 and four in five new heroin users starting out misusing prescription painkillers. A survey conducted in 2014 found that people in treatment for opioid addiction said they chose to use heroin because prescription opioids were “far more expensive and harder to obtain," according to the American Society of Addiction Medication. Tennessee currently has the second highest rate of opioid prescriptions per person.

Karen Pershing, executive director of the Metro Drug Coalition, suggests alternative care options such as acupuncture, physical therapy or referral to neurology and spine specialists, though she is concerned about how some patients will be able to afford these alternative care options.

"Insurance will pay for opiates, so you can get your prescriptions filled,” Pershing said. “But if you wanted an acupuncture session, for instance, that's not covered under our healthcare delivery system."

"The bottom line is that fewer opioid prescriptions are being written and fewer Tennesseans are experiencing the downside and disastrous consequences of a painkiller addiction," said Douglas Varney, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. "We are succeeding in reducing the number of prescriptions being written. We have helped more people into treatment and recovery and rallied a new generation of Tennesseans to live a life free of addiction."