What is the percentage of patients aged 65 years and above who visit their doctor complain of a pain score of more than three?
Between 25% and 40% of older cancer patients studied had daily pain. Among these patients, 21% who were between 65 and 74 years of age received no pain medication; of patients who were 75 to 84 years old, 26% received no pain medication; and for those above the age of 84, 30% were left untreated.
Moreover, detection and management of chronic pain remain inadequate.6 In one study, 66% of geriatric nursing home residents had chronic pain, but in almost half of the cases (34%) it was not detected by the treating physician.7
"doctors are handing out pain medication like candy"
is only going to make this worse.
This is all because some younger addicts who are great actors, good enough for an Oscar award have hoodwinked some busy doctors and a few rotten apples who have worked in well-known pill mills/
Go and ask some of my 80-year-old patients worried about getting hooked on pain pills and voluntarily suffering
Ochsner J. 2010 Fall; 10(3): 179–187.
PMCID: PMC3096211
PMID: 21603375
Pain Management in the Elderly Population: A Review
Alan D. Kaye, MD, PhD,* Amir Baluch, MD,† and Jared T. Scott, MD‡
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