On behalf of the American Medical Association (AMA) and our physician and medical student members,
the AMA appreciates the opportunity to review and comment on the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain (CDC Guideline), originally
published in 2016. We commend CDC’s decision to open a public comment period to allow a broader
group of important stakeholders the opportunity to provide their unique perspectives on the public health
challenges faced by patients with pain, the unintended consequences of the CDC Guideline, and to
provide constructive suggestions on how to revise and update the CDC Guideline to help it more
effectively address the intersection of pain management, prescription opioid use, and opioid diversion,
misuse, and unintentional overdose.