Kayvan Haddadan is a physiatrist and pain management physician, and president and medical director of Advanced Pain Diagnostic & Solutions, a multidisciplinary pain management practice in California that he founded in 2012. A physician and surgeon licensed by the Medical Board of California, he is double board-certified in pain medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation. He is also certified in controlled substance registration through the DEA and serves as a qualified medical examiner through California’s Department of Industrial Relations Division of Workers' Compensation.
Dr. Haddadan earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Alborz in Tehran, Iran, and his medical degree from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. He later received his Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certification in Philadelphia, completed an internship in medical surgery at Loyola University Medical Center’s Stritch School of Medicine in Illinois, and finished his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the same institution. He completed his fellowship in pain medicine at California Pacific Medical Center’s Pacific Pain Treatment Center and also trained in medical acupuncture for physicians at the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine.
Dr. Haddadan has contributed to 29 research publications across multiple specialties, including pain management, cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and infectious disease. His work has examined topics such as hyperlipidemia in high cardiovascular risk patients, hyperuricemia and gout management, type 2 diabetes and hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma therapies, influenza treatment, irritable bowel syndrome, and opioid related complications in chronic pain care. His research has also included clinical outcome studies in spinal cord stimulation and award-winning presentations on neuropathic pain management and neuromuscular disorders.
Close your eyes and imagine a health care system that truly prioritizes patients above all else, one that is free from political interference, financial incentives, or secondary gains that distort decision-making. In this ideal framework, regulatory bodies such as the Medical Board, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) would enforce guidelines uniformly and based on evidence, without inadvertently inflating costs or compromising care quality …
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The hidden cost of medical board regulation and prosecutorial overreach
In our diverse world, where everyone sees things through their own lens, shaped by life experiences, beliefs, and facts, chasing after one absolute “truth” often sparks arguments instead of solutions. But what if we aimed for something better: a “shared truth”? This is about coming together, respecting each other’s opinions, and teaming up to find common ground that works for everyone. It’s like turning a debate into a friendly conversation, …
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What is shared truth and why does it matter?
California’s opioid policies reveal a stark hypocrisy, imposing draconian restrictions on prescriptions for chronic pain patients (leaving wildfire survivors and others in unrelenting agony) while allocating over $100 million annually through initiatives like the California Harm Reduction Initiative (CHRI) and Proposition 36 to provide free needles, pipes, and fentanyl test strips to addicts with minimal oversight. This disparity is compounded by the Medical Board of California’s (MBC) overreach, where physicians …
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California’s opioid policy hypocrisy
As a pain management specialist, my intent is not to promote unchecked opioid prescribing or overlook the serious risks these medications pose. Instead, I advocate for viewing the full picture in patient care. Physicians, trained in medicine and its side effects, must be empowered to use their knowledge and direct observations, including subtle cues like body language and patient interactions during brief visits, to make tailored decisions. Documentation in charts …
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Rethinking opioid prescribing policies
Introduction: a crisis of pain
The opioid crisis is one of the most significant public health emergencies of our time, defined by staggering rates of addiction and overdose. Yet, behind the headlines is a story of profound and often overlooked human suffering. In an effort to save lives, public health policies were enacted to aggressively reduce opioid prescriptions. While well-intentioned, these policies have inadvertently precipitated a parallel crisis of iatrogenic harm, …
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The opioid crisis’s other victims
The ongoing opioid crisis, claiming over 70,000 lives annually in the U.S. according to the CDC’s 2023 data, presents a perplexing scenario where regulatory bodies, in their attempt to curb misuse, have inadvertently intensified challenges for health care providers and patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued its 2016 guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain, with revisions in 2022 to address misapplications, yet these efforts have …
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How restrictive opioid policies worsen the crisis
Imagine a dedicated physician, after years of rigorous training and countless lives saved, facing a medical board complaint over a minor issue—perhaps a clerical error in documentation or a subjective interpretation of a clinical decision. What should be a straightforward matter escalates into a career-threatening ordeal. State medical boards, endowed with significant authority, often wield it with little accountability. Armed with prosecutors who prioritize winning over truth, boards can distort …
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Why reforming medical boards is critical to saving patient care
Pain management physicians, who often prescribe controlled substances like opioids, face intense scrutiny. Critics argue that investigations are overly aggressive, resembling fishing expeditions where investigators search broadly for any evidence of wrongdoing, often beyond the original complaint. A 2023 Los Angeles Times report noted that nearly 10,000 investigations were conducted in 2021–2022, with pain physicians disproportionately targeted due to outdated guidelines predating modern evidence-based practices. For example, the reliance on …
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Why pain doctors face unfair scrutiny and harsh penalties in California
In principle, the judicial system is founded on fairness, requiring that guilt or innocence be established based on evidence.
All parties including judges, defendants, and plaintiffs should be engaged in a rigorous process of fact presentation and scrutiny.
However, in stark contrast, political systems often prioritize rule manipulation and fact distortion, seeking validation over truth. This critical distinction between politics and jurisprudence becomes dangerously blurred when examining the conduct of medical boards …
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Why medical boards are facing growing backlash for abusing power
Theft, in its essence, is the unlawful taking of something valuable from another. While usually associated with material possessions, it also extends to intangible assets such as time, reputation, and emotional well-being. When authorities like medical boards or the Department of Justice (DOJ) engage in unfair practices grounded in presumptive guilt, they are not just misusing their roles but actively stripping individuals of these invaluable resources—an abuse of power that …
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Time theft: the unseen harm of abusive oversight
Health care regulatory bodies have embraced a dangerous “accuse first, prove later” strategy that is eroding the foundation of our health care system. Physicians, the bedrock of patient care, are being subjected to accusations based on flimsy, illegitimate reports or random audits. Rather than building cases on substantial initial evidence, these authorities thrive on retrospective scrutiny—analyzing old notes, reframing past actions, and bending interpretations of guidelines to validate their accusations. …
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How regulatory overreach is destroying innovation in U.S. health care
In recent years, an alarming trend has emerged within the health care system, one that is eroding the very backbone of medical care delivery: the physician. What once were rules and regulations designed to protect and elevate the standard of medical care are increasingly being exploited by medical authorities as a tool to extort, reprimand, and harass physicians. More disturbingly, this extortion is now cloaked as “education,” forcing doctors to …
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The weaponization of rules: How regulatory overreach puts physicians and health care at risk
The health care system, in theory, operates on one fundamental principle: to prioritize patient welfare. Yet, contemporary systems in many regions, particularly the United States, have increasingly veered off course, entangling themselves in a jungle of bureaucracy, regulation, and profit-driven motives that obscure the vital role patients play as the focal point of care. The result is a system riddled with inefficiencies, frustration, and barriers to optimal health care delivery.
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Bureaucracy over care: How the U.S. health care system lost its way
The actions taken by the Medical Board against a compassionate physician dedicated to alleviating chronic pain are nothing short of egregious, deeply flawed, and emblematic of a system that seems intent on punishing rather than protecting. This esteemed doctor, who has spent years serving patients in dire need with integrity and professionalism, now finds himself ensnared by a process that appears more vindictive than just, more biased than fair.
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The silent crisis hurting pain patients and their doctors
