This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

I am sick and tired of this "war on opioids." My wife is extremely sick and is on 11 meds and only one of them was an opioid that she takes "as needed" for pain. Typically, this opioid prescription lasts three or more months (only 30 pills).

I am sick and tired of the media and these fake wars on drugs that some people legitimately need but now because of this "war," none of her doctors will prescribe them. She has tried to go to one of these "pain clinics," but they all have waiting lists that are months to years long and require a urine test (which she passed). So, do I sue all her doctors for malpractice? Do I sue the DEA? I want answers.

The answer is the entire pharmacy system is riddled with incompetence because certain pharmacies are now demanding diagnostic codes. I mean, really? These pharmacists think that they are going to second guess real doctors and specialists that have had 12 plus years of schooling and thousands of hours with millions of people?

The pharmacies have no business knowing what my wife is diagnosed with. Get real, they are only doing a job (for now) that a robot should be doing. We've actually had a pharmacy give us the wrong drug before. Their only reason for existing is counting pills and putting them in a bottle.

If any industry is ripe for robotic revolutionary change, it's the pharmacy. If you can centralize all prescriptions into a system where robots fill and dispense without error, then your abuse cases and pharmacists sneaking or selling pills under the table will go away over night.

Fix it legitimately, not with "wars" on X, Y, or Z. Look at the Nixon era "war on drugs." Yeah, that's going well.

Eric Browning

West Jordan