In a striking reversal in state policy that has gained momentum this week, doctors are receiving stark warnings that the painkilling drug methadone is riskier and more dangerous than previously believed — a drug of last resort because it's unpredictable and poses a heightened risk of accidental death.

By Michael J. Berens and Ken Armstrong

Seattle Times staff reporters

MIKE SIEGEL / THE SEATTLE TIMES

Dr. Jeff Thompson, medical chief for Medicaid

When it comes to battling pain, Washington health officials have encouraged doctors to reach for methadone, a powerful and inexpensive prescription drug. For the past decade, the state has declared methadone to be as safe and effective as any other narcotic painkiller.

But in a striking reversal that has gained momentum this week, doctors are receiving stark warnings that methadone is riskier and more dangerous — a drug of last resort — because it's unpredictable and poses a heightened risk of accidental death.

"It's a dangerous drug because it accumulates in the body and people die in their sleep," Dr. Jane Ballantyne, a pain specialist at the University of Washington, said Friday. "It's very tricky and difficult to use safely."

Ballantyne and the university are helping spearhead a series of state-sponsored training programs to educate physicians, pharmacists and advanced nurse practitioners about the risks of pain drugs.

Earlier this week, while delivering a continuing medical education course for dozens of physicians and other medical professionals at the university, Ballantyne presented a slideshow in which she cautioned that methadone "should be considered a last option opioid, never a first line opioid."

The state's effort is a response to a Seattle Times series, "Methadone and the Politics of Pain." The investigation, published in December, detailed that at least 2,173 people in Washington have died from accidental overdoses of the drug since 2003.

The Times found that year after year, a committee of state-appointed medical experts sanctioned methadone, empowering the state to designate it a "preferred drug" and steer people with state-subsidized health care — most notably, Medicaid patients — to the drug in order to save money.

The state has included only two drugs, methadone and morphine, on its preferred list of long-acting pain drugs.

During the committee's meetings, officials from state agencies that have a financial stake in methadone's selection consistently deflected concerns about the drug.

Methadone's death toll has hit the hardest among low-income patients. Medicaid recipients account for about 8 percent of Washington's adult population but 48 percent of methadone fatalities.

After the series, the state sent out an emergency public-health advisory that singled out the unique risks of methadone.

Medicaid officials faxed a health advisory to more than 1,000 pharmacists and drugstores about methadone, as well as about oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine. The state Department of Health mailed advisories to about 17,000 licensed health-care professionals.

The health advisory confirmed that Washington ranks among states with the highest rates of opioid-related deaths, exceeding the number of deaths each year involving motor vehicles.

Most painkillers, such as oxycodone, dissipate from the body within hours. Methadone can linger for days, pool into a toxic reservoir and depress breathing. With little warning, patients fall asleep and don't wake up. Doctors call it the silent death.

Ballantyne noted that methadone is an indispensable drug and plays an important role in the treatment of many patients. However, due to the heightened risks, methadone should be prescribed only by those with extensive training and experience — and only after every other option has been exhausted.

Dr. Jeff Thompson, chief medical officer of the state's Medicaid program, now readily agrees that methadone use carries unique risks and that it should not be the first choice if other drugs are equally suitable.

He said physicians are stepping up efforts to unravel the long-term impact on the body from prolonged use of prescription drugs now that Washington's new pain-management law has gone into full force beginning this month.

The groundbreaking law requires practitioners to follow new standards for treatment and record-keeping. It also requires prescribers to consult with state-certified pain experts when narcotic dosages reach higher thresholds.

While the law's goal is to lower doses and, if possible, wean patients from narcotic pain drugs, doctors are finding the task more difficult than hoped, Thompson said.

For instance, methadone patients can suffer prolonged withdrawal symptoms, like nausea and depression. With most pain drugs, withdrawal subsides within a week. Methadone's grip can last for months, even years, he said.

State officials will review methadone's role on the state's preferred drug list during a meeting next month.

"I think we're going back and relearning how to treat pain," Thompson said.

Michael J. Berens: 206-464-2288 or mberens@seattletimes.com; Ken Armstrong: 206-464-3730 orkarmstrong@seattletimes.com

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