http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/Doctor-speaks-out-after-DEA-searches-his-clinic–285668611.html
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) — News 12 first told you about Thursday’s DEA visit that left Dr. Achhinder Ohri unable to write prescription pills like hydrocodone.
Dr. Ohri is talking only to News 12’s Jorge Lopez about why the doctor’s office is still seeing patients.
A day after a Drug Enforcement Agency inspection, Dr. Achhhinder Ohri’s office was open for business
and News 12 cameras.
“Have a seat please,” Dr. Ohri told a patient coming for a visit.
Thursday afternoon DEA agents carried boxes from Dr. Ohri’s clinic. Agents say they became suspicious of lots of hydrocodone prescriptions written by Dr. Ohri.
“What kind of doctor are you? Are you a doctor that helps people or are you a doctor that helps people who are addicted to drugs,” asked News 12’s Jorge Lopez.
“No, no. I help people who are really in trouble or problems,” he answered.
Dr. Ohri says he was surprised to see agents searching his office. He says he didn’t write a large number of prescriptions for hydrocodone as a release stated.
“Just for a couple of patients about the prescription drugs,” is what Dr. Ohri says the DEA wanted to talk about.
The doctor believes he’s a victim of drug abusers who shop for doc’s, basically hitting as many clinic’s as possible to get their fix, but for now no one will get certain scripts from Dr. Ohri.
“only a DEA license which I surrendered voluntarily,” is what the doctor says he gave up.
“What does that DEA license give you the power to do,” asked News 12’s Jorge Lopez.
“To prescribe narcotics,” he answered.
Daniel Ferrond was suppose to see Dr. Ohri Thursday, but that DEA search meant he had to re-schedule. He says seeing the agents scared him, but it didn’t scare him away from his doctor.
“If I don’t get my medication in time it could be bad consequences for me,” Ferrond said.
Doctor Orhi will still see patients and can even give them prescriptions for softer drugs like penicillin because he did not give up his medical license.
“You know this is the first time this is happening to me. I have no idea what’s going to happen,” Dr. Ohri said.
Dr. Ohri says he is not adding any new patients and will wait until the DEA calls him on Monday to see what happens next. His profile with the state says he has no medical settlements against his license, never convicted of a crime and has never been disciplined by the board and that his medical license is active.
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Filed under: General Problems
This is insane. If this doctor is anything other than a pain specialist he is certainly qualified to write pain medication for injuries and illnesses. Sprains, sutures, kidney stones, back injuries and many others on a monthly basis. Quality is unimportant depending on strength and drug. What the DEA interference did was to tie his hands and force his patients to suffer or doctor shop. What this doctor did was to choose to keep his practice open and pay his bills. Who is injured in this-again the DEA interference is causing patients to suffer. If this is a pain specialist of course he or she is going to prescribe narcotics hopefully in a amounts for patient comfort. By limiting the doctors that can prescribe narcotics of course the specialist is overwhelmed by patients with chronic pain. I am one. I travel one hour to my primary care for the last 8 years. He was also my father’s doctor. I traveled a hour-opposite direction until this year to my pain specialist of 10 years because both have my trust, know my complicated health history. Most doctors quit listening after the first 3 minutes. I pray that the DEA interference with this doctor ceases so he can continue to treat and keep his patients healthy and comfortable. Shame, shame, shame and more shame.
False, i am not an abuser and i dont think aside from,the first year or 2 i started opiods that they lasted me 30 days. You cant say that, tons of ppl are being undermedicated.
For something like this to happen, they had undercover agents go in specifically to get fake scripts. It happened to a local doctor. And it wasn’t the number of scripts, it was the quantities/cmonos he wrote for. A “walk-in clinic” doctor with absolutely no history on you should not be writing for a large number of narcotic pain meds on your first visit without some sort of tests or validation that there is a problem. In order for the DEA to do this, they probably had hundreds of “questionable” or downright fraudulent Rxs obtained from him through undercover officers or confidential informants. And these didn’t come over a week or so, we’re talking months or more, most likely….
If the pharmacies computers were all connected abusers wouldn’t be able to Doctor shop.
Say a person gets a script for narcotics and takes it to Wallgreens. Then he see’s another doc and takes that script to CVS. When his name gets put into the computer a red flag should go off. No more Doctor shopping, It would end.
One script per 30 days. That’s all legitimate patients get. This is an easy one to fix. So why isn’t the DEA doing this? Why are they ruining a Doctors reputation? It’s not the doctors fault abusers came in faking pain. This is a crime and there Should be jail time to Doctor and pharmacy shop.
Pres Bush signed into law in 2005 such a law called NASPER.. Congress has yet to fund it… where this system would fail… is that the bureaucrats will not allow healthcare providers to validate driver’s licenses against the BMV’s online database.. fake/stolen ID’s are everywhere.. they just hacked Anthem/Blue Cross database.. the bureaucrats won’t consider using a index finger digital finger print with the Rx. These Prescription Monitoring Databases (PMP) all states except Missouri has a law on the books and only 40 odd are up and running… The only thing that is absolutely certain about the data in these databases is the pharmacy that filled the Rx, the medication, strength ,quantity and date filled. If the Rx was forged.. the doc’s name on the Rx is worthless – because he/she didn’t write it… If they gave the Pharmacist bogus name/driver’s license/ address/dob.. the database quickly becomes corrupt and mostly WORTHLESS. IMO.. they don’t want to change the direction of this war.. 51 billion spent every year to try and keep 6 million people from abusing some substance.. 51 billion covers a lot of paychecks for those involved with the war.. if you worked for the DEA or part of the bureaucracy fighting the war on drugs.. how much effort would you put into making yourself UNEMPLOYED ? How much effort would you put into making it look like you are giving it your all to win this war.. we have been fighting this war since 1970 and the war is fighting a black market that Congress created in 1914
This is absolute insanity. This doctor had no complaints, no patient has died as a result of his prescribing practice. With so many doctors not willing to treat patients with chronic pain, it is no surprise that when people find out that there is a doctor who is willing to treat chronic pain, those patients will go to him for help.
The fact that the DEA is responsible for the lack of doctors treating chronic pain causing patients to flock to one who is willing to treat them, causing them to appear that they are prescribing “too much.”
Can you imagine the DEA going in and raiding a oncologist for writing too many opiates? Hey, wait a minute Mr. DEA agent. I treat cancer patients. Of course I am going to prescribe opiates to my patients. They are all in pain!
This situation is so twisted. Maybe Dr. Ibsen could reach out to this doctor. Let him know that we exist.
Someone should really notify the dea and everywhere else about this, it puts it in an easy toninderstand view. Plus the fact that ppl,are FORCED to work even though their disabled as this country doesnt help those disabled unless their married.
Please take the # off the web url so we can go post comments on that article!
Wow what an idiot. Its becayse of sissies like him that the dea will continue to do do this sick bs. If he wasnt doing anything wrong then why did he give up his dea license???unbelievable.
RK, its not that he is a sissy or that he was doing anything wrong. It was a prudent move to voluntarily give up his DEA license. By doing so he is trying to show that he is on the up and up. And the DEA likely would have suspended his license anyway. This doctor knows that it looks better for him to voluntarily give up his license until the DEA completes its audit. Once they find that nothing is amiss he will get his DEA license back.
Yes, but the damage has already been done; his practice has been crushed. There is no news about this doctor getting his license back, or even being charged. If he had to do it over again, would he have fought harder?
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He was probably targeted by the DEA because he runs a walk-in clinic. From a different article:
“Agents spent hours inside the clinic. They wouldn’t say what they were looking [for], just that they were acting on a tip.”
http://www.wrdw.com/home/headlines/DEA-agents-are-inspecting-a-doctors-office-on-Central-Ave-285523931.html
This is absolute bullshit! We MUST defend all these wonderful doctors against this witch hunt! Or possibly patients in GA won’t have any access this way either! I really wish we could contact this doctor so he will know that all support him! He should join our groups!
The DEA is going out of control!
Georgia has got to a PMP by now! That can be checked. This man needs to know about our cause! He’s not guilty and he’s losing his rights to treat patients! Oh how I wish he would file a complaint ,get a lawyer and fight back!!!
If doctors like him? Just give away their earned right to prescribe? That’s horrible¡
Hi Donna,
I was just thinking about how great it would be if a group could be formed for every state since this is a national issue. It could be modeled after this group. I’m not sure how we could find a leader in each state but it would help our cause as related to the DEA. Our Florida group is dedicated to getting the law changed. That is crucial. But even if the law was changed tomorrow we still must contend with getting the DEA to change its policy.
I have no experience with this doctor, none at all. I can’t place the name…. As a pharmacist in the same state, 120 miles due west, along a major interstate, if he was a true “pill mill” doctor, I’m sure he’d be on my radar as a bad doc.