The Doctor Patient Forum

This episode was originally released as an exclusive Patreon video, but in the current climate, we believe it is too important to keep behind a paywall. Pain patients are increasingly being told their pain is “centralized,” “neuroplastic,” “psychological,” or simply “in the brain.” But what does that actually mean? And if a clinician claims someone’s physical pain is psychological, what diagnostic...

After years of hearing the same opioid presentation from Andrew Kolodny, something changed — kratom suddenly became the “next crisis.”That wasn’t random. In this video, I break down:• How mass-tort litigation narratives are built• How experts, media, and parent groups align• How settlement money shapes policy messaging• Why kratom is being framed like opioids were• And who gets harmed when the mac...

This episode breaks down ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) — what these tools were actually designed for, and how they’re often misapplied in pain care to flag patients as “high risk” and deny treatment. We walk through: • what ACEs really measure • how the Opioid Risk Tool was created • where the sexual trauma question came from • why these tools were never meant...

This episode documents how pain care in the United States was dismantled, not accidentally, but through deliberate policy choices that elevated addiction medicine over pain treatment and left millions of patients behind. Bev Schechtman , Vice President of The Doctor Patient Forum (DPF) , walks through the history of opioid policy, the rise of addiction medicine’s influence over pain care, and the...

Why are pain patients treated like criminals, while people on Suboxone are celebrated as brave survivors? This isn’t just stigma, it’s a system. One that quietly rewrote the rules of who deserves compassion... and who gets discarded. In this video, we introduce a lens called Critical Drug Theory, based on Critical Theory, which helps explain how power, identity, and moral narratives shape public p...

Dr. Chad Kollas has spent more than two decades challenging myths and misinformation about opioids in pain care. In this episode, he joins us to break down the FDA’s latest opioid label changes, explain why they matter for patients, and share his perspective as a palliative care physician who has been on the frontlines of this debate since the early 2000s. We talk about: The significance of the FD...

🎙️ Episode 56 Scored. Flagged. Medically Abandoned. Forgotten. Unveiling NarxCare: The Hidden Scoring System in Your Medical Records This is a rerelease of a 2022 podcast episode featuring attorney Jennifer D. Oliva . In this powerful conversation, Bev Schechtman and Claudia Merandi of The Doctor Patient Forum sit down with Professor Oliva to expose the implications of NarxCare and Prescription Dr...

In this conversation, Claudia, Bev, and Dr. Charles LeBaron discuss his experience with a severe painful illness. After he struggled accessing opioids, he started investigating CDC's opioid guidelines and their tragic result. LeBaron Bio For more than twenty-eight years, Charles LeBaron worked as a medical epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While there, he was...

Dr. David Alfery's Bio Dr. David Alfery was raised in the North but moved to Louisiana to attend Tulane University where he graduated with a BA degree in English.  He then attended LSU Medical School in New Orleans.  After graduating, he took the Louisiana State Medical Licensing Exam where he received the highest grade out of approximately 400 new doctors from the three medical schools in the sta...

The audio of this podcast was originally posted on 11/2/23. This is the video version. We are posting this again because one of the most common questions we get have to due with drug testing. We often hear from pain patients who were dismissed from their doctor for failing their drug test. They say there is no way the test is right. Ed Brown gives some possible explanations. Edward Brown's Bio: Ed...

Dr. Joe Parker is our guest. Listen to what led to his prison sentence. Dr. Parker's Bio Dr. Joseph Parker’s career spans the fields of science, military service, and medical practice. He has used his rare blend of scientific expertise, military leadership, and medical acumen to contribute significantly to the advancement of science and the betterment of human health and safety. He writes as a...

Episode 51 Stigma Part 3 - "The Goal is to Force Taper Every Single Pain Patient Down to Zero" We show using clips the disparity between how experts teach doctors to treat pain patients and how they teach doctors to treat people w SUD. ⁠If you missed part 1, here it is⁠ If you missed part 2, here it is We took clips from the following videos/podcasts: We used clips from the following lin...

Episode 50 We interview Kara Cook about her study about the Controlled Substance Act and unintended harms. Kara's brother-in-law, Darren, tragically lost his life at 40 years old due to lack of access to opioids. Kara Cook is concurrently a lecturer in the Department of Statistics and a doctoral candidate in the PhD program in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the College of Public Health.  He...

This is Part 2 of our stigma series. "Pain Patients Are Lying Manipulative Malingerers Who Need a Priest, Not a Doctor." We show an addiction doctor discussing stigma in SUD patients, and compare what's happening to pain patients. If you missed part 1, here it is : We took clips from the following videos/podcasts: 1. May Arkansas Pain Community 2. MOC SUD Stigma 3. CDC Guidelines - D...

Bev talks to Beth Steckler about the large amounts of patients who are newly abandoned in North Dakota. A clinic's prescriber lost her ability to prescribe due to the Feds. This is a huge crisis happening nationwide. Here is our previous podcast with Beth. If you're a patient and lost your prescriber, here are some steps to take. The Doctor Patient Forum is a national nonprofit organizatio...

This is part 1 in our stigma series. Brandy Novicka recently joined our team at The Doctor Patient Forum. Brandy is a resilient spinal advocate living with multiple conditions, including spina bifida occulta, scoliosis, rotoscoliosis, kyphosis, rotated rib cage, spondylolisthesis, spondylosis, pars defect, drop foot, SI joint dysfunction, DDD, nerve damage, and more. Despite undergoing extensive s...

If you would like to contact Jacob, please email him at: Jsullum@reason.com Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine and a nationally syndicated columnist. He is the author of Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use (Tarcher/Penguin) and For Your Own Good: The Anti-Smoking Crusade and the Tyranny of Public Health (Free Press). He is writing a book about the parallels between drug control and...

Atty. Ron Champan's bio Atty Ron Chapman’s trial background, health care experience, and strategic approach to litigation make him a highly sought-after health care defense and federal criminal defense attorney, by health care entities and practitioners nationally who are facing suspicion or charges of health care fraud, not maintaining DEA compliance, or unlawful prescribing. A former prosecu...

Dr. Stefan Kertesz' Bio: Stefan Kertesz is a physician at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Since 1996, Dr. Kertesz has focused his work on helping populations at high risk of receiving poor care, including people with pain whose care has changed a great deal in the wake of the US opioid crisis. He's certified in inter...

Here is Part 1 in case you missed it. Dr. Henson was sent to prison for treating his patients' pain. This is part 2 of a two-part series with Dr. Henson. This is Dr. Steven R. Henson, M.D. - Biography "I have been a Career Physician working in the Emergency Room at a Level 1 Trauma Center. I was also the Executive Medical Director for the Nation’s second largest Air Medical Transport Comp...

Dr. Henson was sent to prison for treating his patients' pain. This is part 1 of a two-part series with Dr. Henson. This is Dr. Steven R. Henson, M.D. - Biography "I have been a Career Physician working in the Emergency Room at a Level 1 Trauma Center. I was also the Executive Medical Director for the Nation’s second largest Air Medical Transport Company providing critical medical service...

This is the 3rd and final part to our ORRP (Opioid Rapid Response Program) Series This program is funded to help support abandoned pain patients after a law enforcement action. ⁠Here is Part 1⁠ , in case you missed it. Here is Part 2. We took clips from the following videos/podcasts for this podcast: ASTHO - Video 4 ASTHO - Video links in this document Trusted Contact Video Series COSSUP - Webinar...

This is part 2 or our 3 part series on ORRP - Opioid Rapid Response Program. This program is funded to help support abandoned pain patients after a law enforcement action. Here is Part 1 , in case you missed it. We took clips from the following videos/podcasts for this podcast: 1. COSSUP - Jan 11, 2023 2. Senate Finance Committee - Oct 2019 3. National Opioid Summit 2020 4. APRO Award 2020 5. Cove...

We interview Dr. Stanton Peele and Zach Rhoads about addiction, Suboxone, pain patients, Harm Reduction, and more! You won't want to miss this episode. Dr. Stanton Peele is a psychologist who has pioneered, among other things, the idea that addiction occurs with a range of experiences and recognition of natural recovery from addiction. He developed the  Life Process Program  for addiction. He...

We often hear from pain patients who were dismissed from their doctor for failing their drug test. They say there is no way the test is right. Ed Brown gives some possible explanations. Edward Brown's Bio: Edward G. Brown is a chemistry expert with over twenty-five years of laboratory research experience, over 5 years of patent work experience and over twenty years of experience assisting atto...