PHARMACIST STEVE

It seems like “everyone” is trying to be involved in the “fake opiate crisis”. President Trump has declared it a national emergency, Dr. Tom Price, Sec of Health and Human Services, Jeff Session, Attorney General have apparently signed on to the national emergency.

Growing number of states’ Attorney generals are suing the Phama’s, drug wholesalers, and have told insurance companies that unless they cut back on paying for opiates that they will be sued as well.

Many cities and counties are piling on suing the same group of entities mentioned above.

Recently CVS Health announced that they were going to limit the days supply of opiates their pharmacists can dispense – regardless what the prescriber writes for – and their PBM division will start put MME/day limits that follows the CDC guidelines, but they will allow employers or insurers to opt out – pts and prescribers apparently have no options in the pt’s care.

Walgreens has their “Good Faith Policies” that their employed pharmacist must follow in regards to filling opiate/controlled meds prescriptions.

Recently, an attorney was posting on the web… looking for people for a whistle blower cases against those who a person believes a particular healthcare providers are providing “excessive opiates” to pts.  In whistle blower cases, those that bring attention to those Medicare/Medicaid pts are involved with fraud and abuse of the system… will share in the “spoils’ if the case is won against a provider. Sometimes that “shared amount” can be in the MILLIONS

Why aren’t we seeing the same whistle blower lawsuits against all those doctors who are administering methylprednisolone ESI therapy… since neither the company that discovered the medication ( UpJohn) nor the FDA recommends this medication used in this manner.  Is that not fraud and abuse of Medicare/Medicaid ?

If no one has bothered to notice that the common denominator in all of this is our JUDICIAL SYSTEM AND ATTORNEYS !

40%+ of Congress is ATTORNEYS… who creates all of these laws…

Dept of Justice includes  DEA, FBI, attorneys, judges/courts, jails/prisons

The DEA licenses prescribers, wholesalers, pharmacies, pharmas

Who is suing or threatening to sue prescribers, wholesalers, pharmacies, insurance/PBM’s  —  ATTORNEYS

There are other “players” … FDA, CDC and I am sure that there will eventually be more.

Of course, long ago… bureaucrats indemnified themselves from being sued by declared that they have sovereign immunity.

Sovereign immunity does not protect the laws/interpretation of laws from being challenged in our court system of being unconstitutional. 

Then there are the employed chain pharmacists who are following corporate policy that has basically mandated that they change the prescriptions for certain medications and for a certain class/category of pts.  Besides the discrimination of pts covered under the Americans with Disability Act and Civil Rights Act… one of the basics of the practice of medicine is the starting, changing, stopping a pt’s medication. So a pharmacist following corporate policies most likely is exceeding what he/she is authorized under the state’s pharmacy practice act.

The same may apply to prescribers that are being forced by their corporate employer – typically a hospital – are “forcing” their employee/prescribers to conform to the corporation’s policy and not be able to use their professional judgement – as provided by the state’s practice act –  as to what is the best therapy for a particular pt.

Of course, a audio/video recording is going to be obligatory because otherwise it is going to be the pt’s word against the healthcare professional and the pt risks the possibility to be declared a drug seeker… so that the healthcare professionals can CYA themselves and their employer.

Most likely, those professional licensing boards are not going to do much against the healthcare professionals… remember… all the members of the licensing boards are also the same as those you are filling complaints against and they are also licensed by the DEA and don’t want to take a chance going against the “DEA agenda”.

Has it become time for the chronic pain community to unite and create a “legal defense fund” … so that the chronic pain community can go after the “low hanging fruit” and start refocusing the healthcare provider’s fear of the DEA and their provider and towards the pts.

This needs to be done this way, because when is the last time that you saw an attorney suing another attorney ?

 

Filed under: General Problems