I was deeply disturbed by a front-page article of Feb. 25 (“Kennebunk doctor had history of writing life-threatening opioid prescriptions, new documents say”).

I am a physician with no knowledge of the particulars in the case against Dr. Merideth Norris. That being said, treating patients with opiate use disorder is a demanding and emotionally stressful calling. Every day we see the headlines describing the current loss of life and damage to families that this disorder has brought upon our state and society. Yet the current treatment of this disease, along with multi-speciality interventions that are considered state-of-the-art care, include the prescription of opiate/narcotic-designated medication.

These medications are no panacea and, yes, do carry the risk of overdose and death. In fact, the attempt by a health care professional to taper someone off opiates has a significant rate of death from subsequent overdose – purposeful or accidental.

The most common source of narcotics that patients tap into are not written prescriptions, they are medications obtained from family and friends. The inflammatory lead into the article does not do justice to the complexity of medical decision making in this patient population. As a counterpoint, many medications both over the counter and prescribed by health care professionals (if you read the fine print) can lead to injury and death, even if given in approved doses.

Please avoid sensational quotes that strike fear and do little to educate the public.

Daniel S. Robbins, M.D.
Portland