Editorial: Managing pain is key to healing

Wednesday, March 1, 2000 | 9:44 a.m.

It is heartening that the state Board of Medical Examiners passed a regulation last week to give doctors the flexibility to prescribe powerful drugs for their patients -- who are in severe pain -- without having to worry they might be disciplined for doing so. As the Sun's Cy Ryan reported Monday, the board adopted the rule based on the model guidelines recommended by the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States. "This allows physicians to treat without having to look over their shoulders at Big Brother," said Dr. Weldon Havins, who is both a lawyer and ophthalmologist from Las Vegas. The regulation importantly, though, does include a requirement that the physician first discuss with the patient the risks potent drug therapies may pose; the doctor also must perform a comprehensive evaluation and develop a written plan that outlines the goal s of the treatment.

Actions such as those taken by Nevada's Board of Medical Examiners are certain to win public approval. Increasingly some Americans have declared that they want to go even further than the modest regulations adopted last week by the state Board of Medical Examiners. For instance, ballot questions have passed in a number of states that would give physicians the permission to use the illegal drug marijuana to help minimize the pain some of their patients are feeling, especially for those undergoing cancer therapy. (Although Nevada's initiative passed in 1998, it must receive approval a second time before it can go into effect.) One of the reasons why some are tempted by euthanasia is that a physician's hands often are tied when looking to use drugs that can help curb pain. A regulation such as this should instead offer hope for those who might otherwise consi der suicide to escape what can be intractable pain.

In 1995 the Legislature passed a law that was supposed to give physicians the power to prescribe medication to alleviate the unbearable pain that some patients feel. But the Legislative Counsel Bureau, which is the Legislature's staff, in the past has blocked these regulations because it disagrees with the rule's language. It is hoped that this time the LCB grants its approval. If the board is stopped again, though, then it is incumbent on the Legislature to revisit this issue and give the Board of Medical Examiners the clear authority to enact this humane regulation.