Posted by Heidi on behalf of Mermie It is enough to cause a problem in California, and it's enough for us to be worried and continue a monitoring system, particularly for Schedule II drugs, but it's certainly nothing for the other 99.9% prescribers to be afraid of. - In fact, there is an easy way to relieve some of that paranoia. All we have ever said is that, when we check things, we check records. We check to see that a good work-up was done, a diagnosis was attempted, a good physical was conducted, and that the physician acted within reasonable direction in using controlled substances to treat the condition diagnosed. - With that type of documentation, most of those prescribers should be relieved of any fear of a criminal or administrative action from governmental authorities. So, it is recordkeeping and a good work-up that keeps everybody satisfied.. If your doctor is not prescribing you the medication that you need and you feel that it's not because you don't need it but because of the fear of the physician to being watched over by the government, of being regulated by the DOJ and DEA, then that is a problem that needs to be addressed with that prescriber. So, where does that leave us? Doctors have to buy the triplicate forms and are allowed only X amount a month. If they need more, they can apply to the state medical board which, from what S.A. Ferranto has seen, never denies legitimate requests (like, from doctors treating cancer and pain patients). Perhaps there'd be less work for these doctors if they would prescribe more than a couple of days or a week's worth of medication at a time - that way, they wouldn't always be "bothered" by those pesky patients needing refills of drugs needed for their chronic conditions, and they wouldn't run out of their controlled forms so fast. But something else comes to mind when I was listening to the talk and reading my notes... Could it be that the doctors who say they are worried about the "feds" breathing down their necks either have had the feds breathing down their necks for some reason (like inadequate documentation,) or are afraid that if the feds do come a-breathing down their necks they will find that they have been, uhm, less than scrupulous about interviewing their patients, ordering tests and copies of prior physicians medical records, and documenting same in their own files? Could it be that the doctors who continue insist, despite the research to the contrary, that narcotics cause addiction in chronic intractable pain patients, that opioids aren't effective in treating chronic severe and unremitting pain, haven't been keeping up with their continuing education. Hmmmm...on the one hand, a sloppy doctor whose lack of accurate record keeping could ultimately adversely affect your health and quality of life, or a doctor who falls into that .1% of "dishonest prescribers, as DOJ agent Ferranto so nicely puts it. Or, could it be that, like the sloppy doctor, the lack of continuing education could be a danger to you? Okay, so chronic, severe, unbearable pain won't actually kill you. But should suicide (or street heroin, as many have done) be forced on patients as the only truly effective method of pain management when their doctor refuses to prescribe because they are behind on their paper work, behind on their state-mandated continuing education, or, heaven forbid, already at risk because they're in that .1% category that the feds do look at when they have the time and manpower? wtresearchteam!M!
on 8/23/2007, 8:10 am
But our main concentration is on those prescribers who are dishonest, less than 1% of all prescribing physicians in the state.
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