NEPA Vital Signs - Summer Fall 2019 - 5

SUMMER/FALL 2019

Letter from the Editor

his edition of the Journal of the
Lackawanna Medical Society focuses
on rebirth and the measures we
take to improve our well-being. As I
contemplated an editorial piece for this
issue, my mind circled again and again to the
opioid crisis we are facing in America, and on
an even more alarming scale, in NEPA. I am
convinced we need a renaissance (rebirth)
regarding our approach to this problem.

DONNA M. EGET, D.O.

In spite of inpatient
treatme nt, outpatie nt
treatment, coalitions
and counseling services,
education and regulations,
people are dying in ever
increasing numbers.

So, we need a new approach to all
of this. We need the legal minds and
the medical minds and the counselors
and crisis workers coming together to
develop this strategy. The good news is
that it's already happening. I recently
attended a meeting with other physicians,
representatives of law enforcement, the
DEA and the State's Attorney's office, in
an effort to find a better approach. Coming

What do people who use opioids
responsibly for pain do without
an alternative that works as well?
Live miserably, I suspect. More
importantly, what will those
patients who are physiologically
dependent on opiods do? This
latter group is at risk of crossing
the line to illegal opioid use - they
will buy pills, or worse, heroin.

Several local medical
providers have been
convicted for crimes
related to their prescribing
practices. In response, those
who have been doing things
"the right way" are becoming
concerned about a visit from
the DEA. They are not just
tapering down prescription
dosages, they are changing
their practices to completely
eliminate the prescription of opioids.

soon, the Lackawanna Recovery Coalition,
Lackawanna County Medical Society, the
Geisinger Commonwealth Medical College
and The Wright Center are holding an
educational conference with all of these
parties. We can and need to do better.

Clearly, this has grave consequences
for our patients. What do people who use
opioids responsibly for pain do without
an alternative that works as well? Live
miserably, I suspect. More importantly, what
will those patients who are physiologically
I see sun peeking through the clouds. I
dependent on opiods do? This latter group hope for a new day when our interventions,
is at risk of crossing the line to illegal opioid like the small pox vaccine obliterating a
use-they will buy pills, or worse, heroin. deadly virus, makes this opioid "epidemic"
a distant memory.
There is evidence to support this theory.
In Florida, after crackdowns on prescription
pill mills, the number of prescriptions
written dropped, but the number of heroin- Donna M. Eget, D.O.
related deaths climbed. Locally, in Luzerne Editor
and Lackawanna Counties, we have seen NEPA Vital Signs
a decrease in the number of prescriptions
written but the number of overdose deaths
continues to rise.

Be well!

DONNA EGET, D.O., IS A BOARD
CERTIFIED EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN.
SHE IS THE OWNER AND MEDICAL
DIRECTOR OF MEDICUS URGENT
CARE IN DUNMORE.

N E PA

VITAL SIGNS

NEPA Vital Signs - Summer Fall 2019

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