Opiophobia – professional
Some of the reasons why doctors under prescribe and nurses under administer opioid drugs:
- "Morphine should only be used when the patient is dying."
- "Morphine hastens death."
- "Morphine causes respiratory depression."
- "Morphine doesn’t work." This may be due to: incorrect administration, opioid-insensitive pain, or by ignoring psychosocial aspects of care.
- "Morphine causes unacceptable side effects." This may be due to: constipation, nausea, somnolence, confusion.
- Fear of tolerance, physical dependence, or psychological dependence.
None of these justify withholding treatment from palliative care patients who need it./i> Woodruff R. Palliative medicine evidence-based symptomatic and supportive care for patients with advanced cancer. 4th ed. Oxford University Press, 2004. p. 106.