DEA medical record case could impact use of telemedicine to prescribe meds
A case pending in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals may have an impact on providers who use telemedicine to prescribe controlled substances.
The case, United States v. Zadeh, centers on whether the Drug Enforcement Administration can obtain and review medical records, without a warrant, through administrative subpoenas to find out if a provider violated prescribing laws for controlled substances, according to an article at Health Care Law Today.
In the case, the DEA is looking to obtain medical records for the patients of Texan physician Joseph Zadeh, write Nathaniel Lacktman and Blake Taelman, of Foley & Lardner LLP.
Zadeh appealed a ruling by the Texas District Court that said the DEA could obtain the records without a warrant. The physician said the ruling will impact patients’ willingness to share information with their provider, which also could hinder information exchange.
Patients are becoming more willing to share their health information, but only for good reasons such as care improvement and research, according to a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
“If the Fifth Circuit rules in favor of the DEA, the DEA might issue similar administrative subpoenas with greater frequency,” Lacktman and Taelman write, adding that telemedicine prescribers should keep their eyes on the case.
Telemedicine has seen its share of troubles in the industry.
A recent report by the Center for Connected Health Policy found that while 48 states and the District of Columbia all have definitions of telehealth or telemedicine written into law or their Medicaid program, differences in those definitions are creating “confusing environments” for end users.
In addition, patients are wary of the technology, and many would be less likely to use telemedicine services compared to an in-person visit with a physician, a study by TechnologyAdvice Research found.
To learn more:
– here’s the article
Filed under: General Problems
I call them the alphabet gang.DEA, LEO.
I know they’ve had their fingers in my medical records because they have dictated to my doctor the exact amount of morphine millequivalents that my prescription must be reduced. How did they know what I was taking, how do they know what amount it must be reduced and how do they know my doctor did or did not do it?
Isn’t this the type of info that Matt at WESH or other media should be bringing up and didn’t the DEA just say at the meeting Monday in FL BOP meeting that they aren’t dictating to doctors and pharmacists anything when it comes to legitimate prescriptions for chronic pain patients????? They keep preaching they aren’t doctors……..
I am not sure if an attorney could get a court order to get who has accessed your PMP records.. some states have resisted the DEA’s requests for access to their PMP to go on a “fish expedition” without a court order.
That’s horrible. They have other crimes and other things in our society that needs to be done, changed, or re-written…..stop embarrassing this young lady!!