AMERICAN-STYLE SECRET "SKULDUGGERY" FATAL FLAWS OF "NARXCARE®" -- WHAT MARK TWAIN WOULD SAY ABOUT PREDICTIVE MEDICINE

Background: In this paper, the authors set forth in prose readable by clinical non-professionals, several fundamental reasons for deep caution in applying NarxCare ® or any other algorithm based on artificial intelligence to the practice of pain medicine. Objectives: To assess the dangers and fallacies in use of the NarxCare instrument as a pre-filter for patient access to safe and effective pain care employing prescription opioid analgesics. Methods: Critical review of the clinical literature on pain and addiction. Findings: AI-based algorithms like NarxCare simply do not apply to individuals and are incapable of incorporating individual nuances. No competent clinician would ever plan a course of pain management without extensive patient workup and individualized treatment. NarxCare as presently applied actively suppresses individualized care by potentially criminalizing clinician decisions.