Chronic pain management: legal and licensure issues

Legal and licensure issues are an inevitable aspect of treating patients with chronic pain. Clinicians need to ensure compliance with state medical board and federal guidelines. Prescription drug abuse continues to be a significant problem. Despite the legalization of medical marijuana in some states, there is currently no medical indication for prescribing marijuana; the exceptions are dronabinol and nabilone. These are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, and dronabinol also is approved for anorexia in patients with AIDS or cancer. Other legal issues concern establishment of chronic pain as a basis for disability status. Clinicians often are asked to provide a letter or assessment, such as a functional capacity evaluation, for documenting disability. Referral to a physical medicine and rehabilitation subspecialist or physical therapist for this evaluation should be considered. Balancing legal and licensure issues with the best interests of the patient can be challenging for clinicians.