While this is good news AT THE STATE LEVEL… but it does nothing to deal/stop with the actions of the DEA.
It would seem that the DEA has changed its practices and today Linda Cheek posted a article on a doctor and there is no mention of any DEATHS that were attached to the doctor’s practice https://doctorsofcourage.org/gilbert-ross-ghearing-md/
It would appear that the DEA is now looking at the GROSS NUMBER of controlled substances Rx written/dispense or the GROSS NUMBER of doses written/dispensed. Typically they report a LARGE NUMBER with maybe a date range but no number of pts involved nor the medical issues of those pts. Apparently they have done some data mining is some database that they can extract these numbers.
They presume from those large numbers that one or more Rxs were NOT FOR A VALID MEDICAL NEED which is a violation of the Controlled Substance Act and then if any are billing to Medicare or Medicaid. Then the doc is charged with Medicare/Medicaid fraud because billing for unnecessary medical services provide.
Recently DEA fined several CVS stores 535,000 for allegedly filling at total of 39 forged/fake C-II Rxs over a undisclosed time frame. This is almost $14,000 fine per forged Rx filled !
No one went to jail, no license was suspended for violating both the State practice act and CSA
https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190416/cvs-to-pay-535000-for-filling-forged-prescriptions
Other than having one fake/forged Rx found by a pharmacist and turning it over to the DEA.. how else did they find the other fake Rxs other than do some data mining for the particular drug and particular prescriber and where they were filled and went to those particular store to look at those particular Rxs ?
To the best of my knowledge all state practice acts have parallel verbiage of the Federal Controlled Substance (CSA) act so if the DEA rolls into town and charges a prescriber with violating the CSA, boards will have little choice but to suspend the prescriber’s state license.
In the long term, this new law may end up being nothing more than a FEEL GOOD LAW and may end up being no more than a “paper tiger”
Filed under: General Problems
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