Books by Dr. Rotchford

Opioids in Chronic Pain Management—A Guide for Patients

Pain and suffering are ubiquitous. No quick answer explains why pain and suffering exist. Indeed, entire religions have been built on how best to address suffering. This guide does not pretend to explain suffering nor how to eliminate it. It intends to help patients better appreciate the risks and benefits of using opioids in chronic pain management. The guide introduces principles, alternatives, and adjunctive treatments, which are often effective in better managing chronic pain.

The book can be helpful to family members, counselors, health care workers, and educators, who are advising loved ones, patients, and students, who live with chronic pain and are looking at opioid medications for potential relief of their suffering. For counselors and healthcare workers the book provides an Appendix of resources including evaluation forms to help in the assessment of pain and progress of treatment.

Medical Cannabis - Initial Medical Consultation

This “initial consultation” is for those who are considering using cannabis for medical purposes. It addresses the important elements a capable physician will likely review during an initial consultation to evaluate and authorize the use of medical cannabis.

American physicians are still not legally able to prescribe cannabis. Except for marijuana, there is no other substance a physician can legally authorize, but not prescribe.

From the outset, patients who are authorized should know that they are acting on their own behalf in prescribing medical cannabis. Based on current laws you must write your own prescription. Because of the complexities of the human body, mind and spirit, you should be prepared to carefully evaluate the pros and cons of using medicinal cannabis.

Historically, physicians have been considered uniquely qualified to inform patients of the indications, risks, and side effects from using any substance for medical purposes.

Opidemic—A Public Health Epidemic

“Opidemic” is a term coined to describe the significant morbidity and mortality associated with the recent upsurge of opioid use and abuse in the United States. It is a combination of the words opioid and epidemic to accentuate the disease’s uniqueness and severity. The Opidemic phenomenon has become widely accepted in the United States as an epidemic.

Let us address the Opidemic as we have done effectively with other epidemics such as tuberculosis, influenza, and heart disease. The best response to a serious epidemic is to use the professionals with a proven track record of managing epidemics: our public health professionals.