An E.R. Kicks the Habit of Opioids for Pain

Lauren Khalifeh, a nurse and St. Joseph’s holistic coordinator, doing a treatment called pranic healing in the emergency room. The hospital has introduced protocols in the E.R. that seek to avoid opioids for common types of acute pain.

Since Jan. 4, St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center’s emergency department, one of the country’s busiest, has been using opioids only as a last resort. For patients with common types of acute pain — migraines, kidney stones, sciatica, fractures — doctors first try alternative regimens that include nonnarcotic infusions and injections, ultrasound guided nerve blocks, laughing gas, even “energy healing” and a wandering harpist.

Scattered E.R.s around the country have been working to reduce opioids as a first-line treatment, but St. Joe’s, as it is known locally, has taken the efforts to a new level.

by Jan Hoffman, NY Times |  Read more:

Image: Mark Makela for The New York Times

[ed. Unbelievable. Opioid hysteria has gotten out of control. As one commenter noted: "If I get a bill for a harpist, I'm going to be in a lot of pain".]