Educational Media Reviews Online

Produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, this video investigates the complicated societal and medical issues surrounding the use of an addictive narcotic (morphine and the related opioids) for controlling pain and more specifically chronic pain. The story is told primarily focusing on the practice of one individual physician, Frank Adams. Dr. Adams who had a Texas based practice working with cancer patients discovered over time that the opioid class of drugs that were so effective for cancer and emergency room patients were also very effective against the suffering of chronic pain patients. However, as the video portrays, most medical practitioners and society consider the use of narcotics to control chronic pain totally inappropriate. In short time, Dr. Adam was under investigation by law enforcement officials and the Texas board for physicians for illegal practice. Although eventually cleared by both groups of any wrongdoing, Dr. Adams later relocated to Kingston, Ontario where he established a practice working primarily with chronic pain sufferers. The controversy of his prescribing practices soon became an issue with Ontario officials as well. Unfortunately Dr. Adams did not fare as well and his license to practice medicine in Ontario was suspended.

The video provides perspectives on the issues from interviews with Dr. Adams, his colleagues who are proponents of his work, his opponents, as well as many of his patients. Although the video is decidedly pro Dr. Adams, it poses some interesting questions for health care practitioners and society – why in an era of evidence-based practice and patient outcomes, are the evidence and the outcomes being ignored? And can we as a society adapt quickly enough to deal with the changes in medical practice that improve health outcomes?