By Lynn R. Webster, MD
The law of unintended consequences states that the actions of people, and especially of governments, always have effects that are unanticipated, as when legislation and regulation aimed at righting a problem go wrong in other ways (Unintended consequences. http://tinyurl.com/?8p8g). An example may be the guideline issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) discouraging the use of opioids in treating chronic pain, excluding cancer and end of life (MMWR