PHARMACIST STEVE

Hi Steve, just wanted to let you know that it happened to me now too – got a letter from my dr and he is stopping prescribing any opiates here in Ohio. Here’s what the letter he sent me reads: As your ongoing primary care provider I deeply value your trust and reliance on me. Being a dedicated professional, I am committed to delivering excellent care to my patients. As you may be aware, the opioid crisis is significantly impacting our community. The Ohio State Medical Board and Ohio Board of Pharmacy have recently issued additional rules regarding controlled medication prescribing, aimed to enhance patient safety and reduce the risk of unintentional overdose and death. Accordingly, UH(University Hospital) is taking a strict stand with regard to patient safety and the usage of controlled medications, including pain medications and anxiety medications (e.g. opioids and benzodiazepines).(Note I do not take any anxiety meds) Given the importance of optimal symptom management, along with challenges in complying with the new regulatory requirements, I will no longer be prescribing controlled medications. As a result, I would like to refer you to a provider who specializes in the treatment of your symptoms, and can reevaluate and potentially establish a new plan of care. Since I would like to discuss specific referrals with you, please call the office to make an appointment at your earliest convenience. I look forward to continuing as your primary care physician for all of your general medical needs, and I look forward to seeing you soon.

I think you are probably right – however my dr has been being pressured by DEA for almost 2 years now – he wasn’t keeping records as good as he should have been initially and got that squared away but they kept coming back – he’s 3 years away from retirement and now Ohio just instituted new laws making it even more restrictive so knowing all of this I honestly can’t blame my doc for making this change so he can finish out his last couple years and then retire. But sadly 2 months ago he told me he wasn’t going to leave me high and dry but now he’s gone back on his word. I don’t have the money to be a test patient with laws though I am disabled and could file against the laws Ohio is setting up.

Sure sounds like to me that this is another hospital/corporation that has decided to CYA themselves and mandate all their employee/prescribers to stop prescribing all controlled substances.  To me.. that sounds like practicing medicine without a license and since the vast majority of pts taking controlled substances are dealing with a protect class under the Americans with Disability Act.  One would suspect that the hospital/corporation has “deep pockets” and I suspect that there are other state/fed laws that are being violating and who knows if the laws/regulations that Gov Kasich and the bureaucrats have enacted are actually constitutional ?

Filed under: General Problems