A series of recent stories in the Seattle Times about pain clinics in Washington state and the prescribing of methadone goes straight to Vancouver. It brings back some painful memories to a few Vancouver residents. We have reputable physicians operating conservative pain clinics both before and after the Payette Clinic mess.
The quantities of methadone prescribed for pain relief at Payette were escalating and patients were becoming heavily addicted to opiate pain medications. Not knowing what to do with their addicted patients, in 2007 the clinic crashed. Where was the consumer beware warning? Didn’t people know the clinic was not under the supervision of a physician?
We expect a lot out of nurse practitioners. They need to be well-experienced, seasoned registered nurses who can manage a patient’s care. Nurse practitioners are all over Clark County in specialty clinics, such as primary care, pulmonary care, dermatology, ear, nose and throat and pediatrics. They do a good job and do not deserve to have their reputations dragged down by the Payette experience.
Jerry Daniel
Vancouver
