How Dr. Drew Sold His Cred to Big Pharma

Posted on October 20, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Who thought he was off the air called #CPPS #IPPS,
“BORDERLINE DRUGGIES”
How Dr. Drew Sold His Cred to Big Pharma
The health journalist for HLN comes under scrutiny after admitting he helped a major drug company promote antidepressants to consumers.

Drew Pinsky, with fellow CNN host Piers Morgan, during the Turner Broadcasting Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

On Monday night, Dr. Drew Pinsky’s program on HLN — the network formerly known as CNN Headline News — explored the everyman’s dilemma of “how to tell if your doctor is hooked on drugs.” Informative as the segment proved to be, one surefire signal your doc’s hooked didn’t come up. Any time federal prosecutors release a cache of documents proving that a pharmaceutical company paid your doctor $275,000 as part of a criminal plan to market its antidepressant for unapproved uses, your doctor has a drug problem. Dr. Pinsky is one of many physicians GlaxoSmithKline (formerly Glaxo Wellcome) sent around to trump up Wellbutrin’s potential uses outside of FDA ground rules. His activities, elaborately decorated as a public educational campaign, amounted to a convenient contraption GSK used to launder illegal marketing messages.

“Dr. Drew” is a board-certified addiction specialist who rose to national prominence through his long-running radio show, Loveline, which delivers sexual health and relationship advice to its confused, vulnerable, and curious callers. MTV picked up the show, catapulting the telegenic Dr. Drew into true media stardom. He’s built a wide-ranging career including shows like “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” and since last year he’s hosted a nightly program for HLN. Dr. Drew’s minor empire is built on audiences who’ve grown to trust his medical opinion.

Though GSK pled criminally guilty and will fork out $3 billion in penalties for violations ranging from illegal marketing to misreporting drug prices, Pinsky’s role as GSK’s enabler doesn’t constitute a crime. But the extent to which he deceived his audiences as part of the GSK-prescribed program, which involved town halls, writings, and media appearances, ought to end his career with CNN. Aware that Wellbutrin’s main competition, the class of drugs known as SSRIs, came with the unfortunate risk of lowering libido, GSK’s sales department developed an ingenious plan to use Dr. Pinsky as the face of a public education campaign getting the word out about these side effects and “other effective antidepressants that do not disrupt sexual desire and function,” as GSK’s website said. Other antidepressants then available that didn’t seem to depress sex drive included Serzone, which is now off the market, and Remeron. But both had other complicating factors that made Wellbutrin the better choice in such situations.

Dr. Drew hasn’t apologized and has instead issued a statement saying his comments about Wellbutrin were based on his own clinical experience. That’s the claim most doctors make when pressed about giving remarkably on-message pharma-sponsored talks. Whether or not you buy his claim that GSK’s money made no difference to him, Dr. Drew’s role was suspect in speaking to an audience that was both unwitting of his paid status and medically unsophisticated. Similar to the audience tuning in to him on HLN every night, he was speaking to people who were relying on his medical authority. Clinical audiences have a base of knowledge they can use to evaluate claims that Dr. Drew aired, such as his assertion on one radio program that Wellbutrin can make women multiorgasmic. The general public does not.

The other CNN host facing charges of public trust violation, Piers Morgan, has so far survived calls for his resignation over his alleged but unproven link to Britain’s phone hacking scandal. Now CNN, mired in its lowest ratings in decades, faces a similar decision accompanied by fewer options. When I brought up the Piers Morgan affair in an interview, Turner Broadcasting spokesperson Carolyn Disbrow tried to distance HLN from CNN at large. “You know we’re separate, right?,” she said.

According to documents available on the Justice Department’s website, Dr. Drew broadcast GSK’s intended message while keeping audiences in the dark about being a paid spokesman. Pinsky has also admitted as much in a statement. Although Turner told me that Dr. Drew’s GSK payments “occurred well before the time he became affiliated with [HLN],” Dr. Drew’s habit of taking money from pharma doesn’t appear to end there. ProPublica’s “Dollars for Docs” database reports that Johnson & Johnson paid Dr. Drew $74,500 just two years ago. Was that more undercover messaging? Dr. Drew’s brief statement doesn’t address J&J or the most important questions: what else are we missing, and what’s going on now?

While pondering Dr. Drew’s next move in this scandal, I reached out to Dr. Daniel Carlat, a psychiatrist who once made big bucks giving talks for Wyeth about its antidepressant Effexor. Dr. Carlat went on to redeem himself by founding a pharma-free continuing medical education company, writing about his experience, and is now serving as director of the Pew Prescription Project, which aims at getting the Physician Payments Sunshine law implemented as quickly as possible. Calling Dr. Drew’s actions improper, Carlat says “doctors would think twice about accepting such payments if a strong disclosure law were in effect.” Recently, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services delayed its estimated Sunshine implementation date until January 2013. Though all physicians must make plans for 2013, back in 1999 Dr. Drew could never have predicted the confluence of events that brought his $275,000 deal into public view today.

Dr. Drew happens to sell ad spots on his Twitter account. He dutifully identifies his sponsored messages on Twitter, unlike the messages he delivered for GSK. He tries not to overdo it. “It’s treacherous. I don’t want people to think I’m exploiting my followers,” Dr. Drew once told a CNN reporter. That’s exactly what I’m thinking.

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.

FORD VOX, MD, is a physician, based in Atlanta, who specializes in caring for people with complex brain injuries. He has written for Newsweek, Slate, and the Los Angeles Times.

How Dr. Drew Sold His Cred to Big Pharma

https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/07/how-dr-drew-sold-his-cred-to-big-pharma/259473/

The health journalist for HLN comes under scrutiny after admitting he helped a major drug company promote antidepressants to consumers.

Drew Pinsky, with fellow CNN host Piers Morgan, during the Turner Broadcasting Television Critics Association winter press tour in Pasadena, California (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters)

On Monday night, Dr. Drew Pinsky’s program on HLN — the network formerly known as CNN Headline News — explored the everyman’s dilemma of “how to tell if your doctor is hooked on drugs.” Informative as the segment proved to be, one surefire signal your doc’s hooked didn’t come up. Any time federal prosecutors release a cache of documents proving that a pharmaceutical company paid your doctor $275,000 as part of a criminal plan to market its antidepressant for unapproved uses, your doctor has a drug problem. Dr. Pinsky is one of many physicians GlaxoSmithKline (formerly Glaxo Wellcome) sent around to trump up Wellbutrin’s potential uses outside of FDA ground rules. His activities, elaborately decorated as a public educational campaign, amounted to a convenient contraption GSK used to launder illegal marketing messages.
“Dr. Drew” is a board-certified addiction specialist who rose to national prominence through his long-running radio show, Loveline, which delivers sexual health and relationship advice to its confused, vulnerable, and curious callers. MTV picked up the show, catapulting the telegenic Dr. Drew into true media stardom. He’s built a wide-ranging career including shows like “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew,” and since last year he’s hosted a nightly program for HLN. Dr. Drew’s minor empire is built on audiences who’ve grown to trust his medical opinion.
Though GSK pled criminally guilty and will fork out $3 billion in penalties for violations ranging from illegal marketing to misreporting drug prices, Pinsky’s role as GSK’s enabler doesn’t constitute a crime. But the extent to which he deceived his audiences as part of the GSK-prescribed program, which involved town halls, writings, and media appearances, ought to end his career with CNN. Aware that Wellbutrin’s main competition, the class of drugs known as SSRIs, came with the unfortunate risk of lowering libido, GSK’s sales department developed an ingenious plan to use Dr. Pinsky as the face of a public education campaign getting the word out about these side effects and “other effective antidepressants that do not disrupt sexual desire and function,” as GSK’s website said. Other antidepressants then available that didn’t seem to depress sex drive included Serzone, which is now off the market, and Remeron. But both had other complicating factors that made Wellbutrin the better choice in such situations.
Dr. Drew hasn’t apologized and has instead issued a statement saying his comments about Wellbutrin were based on his own clinical experience. That’s the claim most doctors make when pressed about giving remarkably on-message pharma-sponsored talks. Whether or not you buy his claim that GSK’s money made no difference to him, Dr. Drew’s role was suspect in speaking to an audience that was both unwitting of his paid status and medically unsophisticated. Similar to the audience tuning in to him on HLN every night, he was speaking to people who were relying on his medical authority. Clinical audiences have a base of knowledge they can use to evaluate claims that Dr. Drew aired, such as his assertion on one radio program that Wellbutrin can make women multiorgasmic. The general public does not.
The other CNN host facing charges of public trust violation, Piers Morgan, has so far survived calls for his resignation over his alleged but unproven link to Britain’s phone hacking scandal. Now CNN, mired in its lowest ratings in decades, faces a similar decision accompanied by fewer options. When I brought up the Piers Morgan affair in an interview, Turner Broadcasting spokesperson Carolyn Disbrow tried to distance HLN from CNN at large. “You know we’re separate, right?,” she said. 
According to documents available on the Justice Department’s website, Dr. Drew broadcast GSK’s intended message while keeping audiences in the dark about being a paid spokesman. Pinsky has also admitted as much in a statement. Although Turner told me that Dr. Drew’s GSK payments “occurred well before the time he became affiliated with [HLN],” Dr. Drew’s habit of taking money from pharma doesn’t appear to end there. ProPublica’s “Dollars for Docs” database reports that Johnson & Johnson paid Dr. Drew $74,500 just two years ago. Was that more undercover messaging? Dr. Drew’s brief statement doesn’t address J&J or the most important questions: what else are we missing, and what’s going on now?
While pondering Dr. Drew’s next move in this scandal, I reached out to Dr. Daniel Carlat, a psychiatrist who once made big bucks giving talks for Wyeth about its antidepressant Effexor. Dr. Carlat went on to redeem himself by founding a pharma-free continuing medical education company, writing about his experience, and is now serving as director of the Pew Prescription Project, which aims at getting the Physician Payments Sunshine law implemented as quickly as possible. Calling Dr. Drew’s actions improper, Carlat says “doctors would think twice about accepting such payments if a strong disclosure law were in effect.” Recently, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services delayed its estimated Sunshine implementation date until January 2013. Though all physicians must make plans for 2013, back in 1999 Dr. Drew could never have predicted the confluence of events that brought his $275,000 deal into public view today.
Dr. Drew happens to sell ad spots on his Twitter account. He dutifully identifies his sponsored messages on Twitter, unlike the messages he delivered for GSK. He tries not to overdo it. “It’s treacherous. I don’t want people to think I’m exploiting my followers,” Dr. Drew once told a CNN reporter. That’s exactly what I’m thinking.

Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »

U.S. Attorney for Oregon Indicts Three Chinese Nationals for Laundering Drug Money: All three defendants are at-large and believed to be outside the U.S

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

U.S. Attorney for Oregon Indicts Three Chinese Nationals for Laundering Drug Money

https://canbynowpod.com/crime/u-s-attorney-for-oregon-indicts-three-chinese-nationals-for-laundering-drug-money/

Three Chinese nationals were indicted by the U.S. attorney’s office in Oregon this week for their roles in a complex scheme to launder proceeds from the sale of illegal narcotics by facilitating the transfer of bulk cash from Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

Shefeng Su, Xinhua Li Yan and Xiancong Su, are each charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. Shefeng Su and Li Yan were residents of Portland during the time frame alleged in the indictment.

According to the indictment, the defendants’ money laundering scheme was designed to remedy two separate problems: drug trafficking organizations’ inability to repatriate drug proceeds into the Mexican banking system and the restrictions by China’s capital flight laws from transferring large sums of money held in Chinese bank accounts for use abroad.

Drug traffickers are challenged by their inability to transport U.S. currency acquired from the sale of illegal narcotics to Mexico while avoiding detection by law enforcement and Mexican banking regulators. White Sands are getting involved to keep the drugs at bay as it was damaging the youth. Mexico’s anti-money laundering regulations limit the amount of cash deposits of U.S. dollars that Mexican financial institutions can receive.

As a result, drug trafficking organizations work with professional money launderers to bundle and sell bulk U.S. dollars in order to convert them to pesos, a more readily depositable currency in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Chinese nationals living outside China are challenged by China’s limit on the amount of personal funds that can be transferred out of Chinese bank accounts for use in a foreign country. Currently, China limits these transfers to $50,000 per year. As a result, some Chinese nationals have a need to acquire large quantities of U.S. dollars via other means.

The defendants’ scheme facilitated the transfer of cash between these two groups. Their money laundering organization would facilitate the transfer of funds from the buyer’s Chinese bank account to another Chinese bank account held by the money laundering organization.

Once the Chinese renminbi (RMB) were transferred between these bank accounts, the funds were repatriated back to Mexico and converted to pesos to complete the money laundering cycle. This scheme has been described by some as the “Chinese Underground Banking System.”

All three defendants are at-large and believed to be outside the U.S. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The DEA/judicial system will always try to go after the money… even if they are only getting about 10% of all the illegal substances are getting seized and destroyed…   Nothing like indicting people who are not in the country and unlikely the people will ever get served, jailed and go to trial.  I guess that it is important for those within our judicial system to do something to demonstrate that they are focused on the job at hand.. No matter how futile their actions are.

Filed under: General Problems | 3 Comments »

If you don’t compare your med costs under Part D – YOU MAY BE VERY SORRY !

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

This is the first year that I have compared Part D programs for us.  Below is the “short version” of that comparison. Barb has had a part D prgm policy since its inception in 2006 with Silver Script (a CVS Health company) . She went on Medicare disability in 1996 and between 1996 and 2006 all of her medications were paid for “OUT OF POCKET”  It was not unusual during that time frame that for a 90 days supply of all of her medication would cost between $2000- $3000.  One of Barb’s medications required a PRIOR AUTHORIZATION and copay was $600 and change for a 90 day supply.  It wasn’t until last year that one of Pharmacists at the Winn-DIxie that we use while in Florida suggested that I use the “house drug card” that Winn Dixie uses that would bring the cost down to $190 and change for a 90 days supply… CASH AND NO PA… 🙂

Upon returning to our Indiana home, I discovered that at one of the BIG BOX STORES… I could purchase – FOR CASH – the same 90 days supply for < $90.

For 2020 Silver Scripts using the  https://www.medicare.gov/plan-compare/#/?lang=en to compare out of pocket costs of the various Part D prgms… if you are currently on a Part D prgm, all you have to do is create or login to Medicare and they will pull up all your meds to help you compare the costs of the various prgms available in your zip code.

Silver scripts has a stated cost of this particular med of $3520.09 for a 90 days supply and the new policy we are probably going to sign up for lists the cost as $97.42 after the deductible has been met.  With CVS health being the largest pharmacy chain in the country… and Silver Script being one of the TOP THREE PART D PRGMS …one would think that they would be able to purchase this med at or near the same cost as other pharmacies or PBM’s.

They also – sort of – play a trick with the $$ numbers… unless the pt is paying attention… they may not notice that the pt’s cost is the same before the deductible as it is after the deductible has been met… which means … IT IS NOT A COVERED MEDICATION…  pt MAY BE ABLE TO GET IT COVERED VIA A PRIOR AUTHORIZATION…. but still have to PAY HUNDREDS more than the medication can be purchased for CASH at many pharmacies.

Me on the other hand…  I take SIX GENERIC RXS and estimated annual cost via Silver Scripts is $1596.88 and thru the plan we are probably going to sign up for would be $294.24… I would not even meet the $450 annual deductible !!!

Caremark – the PBM that CVS Health owns – has been caught overcharging the Arkansas state employee prescription prgm https://www.kark.com/news/lawmakers-pharmacists-meet-with-cvs-over-regulation-of-pharmacy-benefit-managers/ as well as the Ohio’s state Medicaid HMO prgm. https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/pharmacy-middlemen-reap-millions-from-medicaid

Filed under: General Problems | 3 Comments »

Dr Mark Ibsen at the Don’t Punish Pain Rally in MT

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Dr Mark Ibsen at the Don’t Punish Pain Rally in MT

Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »

Don’t Punish Pain Rally 10-16-2019

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Don’t Punish Pain Rally 10-16-2019 from Susie Scott on Vimeo.

Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »

LA TIMES: CALF seem to have a strange urge to elect really obnoxious women to HIGH OFFICE

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve


Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »

Please pass along advise I was given by a lawyer to contact law schools

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Please pass along advise I was given by a lawyer to contact law schools as it could mean free media attention for the schools!!! Offer them the chance to be in history books. A lawyer suggested I contact my state`s law school, (bedridden twice 5 months after healing from a triple bypass, it took a year for me to find a doctor “after mine retired” that would prescribe both pain med. and zanax thatI have been on for 16 years) I called them but was told I was too far in distance from the school for them to consider my request.

Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »

Dr Drew Pinsky pod cast (09/17/2019) on treating chronic pain

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Medical Board of California

Licensing details for: G 55092

Name: PINSKY, DAVID DREW

License Type: Physician and Surgeon G

Primary Status: License Renewed & Current Primary Status Definition

School Name: University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

Graduation Year: 1984

Address of Record:

2050 HUNTINGTON DR STE D
SOUTH PASADENA CA 91030
LOS ANGELES county

The following information is self-reported by the licensee and has not been verified by the Board.

Are you retired?        No
Activities in Medicine     Other – 10-19 Hours
Administration – 1-9 Hours   Teaching – 1-9 Hours
Patient Care – 10-19 Hours    Research – None
Telemedicine – 1-9 Hours       Patient Care Practice Location
Zip –                                        91030
County –                                  LOS ANGELES
Patient Care Secondary Practice Location      Not identified
Telemedicine Practice Location     Zip – 91105
County –                                    LOS ANGELES
Telemedicine                            Not identified
Secondary Practice Location    Not identified
Current Training Status            Not in Training
Areas of  practice                     Other – Not Listed – Secondary
Internal Medicine – Primary
Board Certifications                  American Board of Internal Medicine – Internal Medicine
Postgraduate Training Years     4 Years
Cultural Background                 White
Foreign Language Proficiency   French
Gender                                       Male
In listening to this program… two things seemed fairly odd…
Dr Drew repeated several times that he was not aware of any chronic pain pts having trouble getting their medication(s)
Dr Drew repeated several times that Suboxone DOES TREAT CHRONIC PAIN VERY WELL.
I guess that Dr Pinsky’s neighborhood or “circle of friends” live in a “utopia” in regards to ready access to adequate chronic pain treatment… or all the FB messages, emails, phone calls that I get every week are from chronic pain pts are just “unlucky” or lying about not getting proper pain management prescribed… or having Pharmacists refusing to fill the controlled substance Rxs and/or PBM/insurance companies refusing to pay for only some or none of the Rxs that their prescriber writes.
Suboxone may well work for some chronic pain pts …but… the only FDA approved use for Suboxone is for opioid dependence… of course this can be used/prescribed “off-label” for just about any health issue.
Where are the clinical studies that support the long term use of  Suboxone being effective in treating chronic pain… ?  Isn’t this what all the anti-opiate zealots use as a reason why opiates should not be prescribed long term to treat chronic pain  ?
Just imagine this… a pt is being given some Suboxone for chronic pain… maybe works a little bit… but the pt is offered no other medication options… the pt’s doc retires, leaves town, or stops treating chronic pain pts..
In searching out a new prescriber to treat the pt’s chronic pain… the pt gets routinely turned down in their search of new prescriber…  BECAUSE… these prescribers see SUBOXONE on the pt’s medication records… It is a controlled substance and would show up on a PMP report… and the prescribers “jump to the conclusion” that the pt is in REHAB for substance abuse…
May make no difference that the pt’s medical record does not have a ICD10 code for substance abuse.
After all, the only FDA approved use for Suboxone is for SUBSTANCE ABUSE.

Filed under: General Problems | 8 Comments »

Is this what you get when you elected a state AG who is married to a DEA agent ?

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve

Atty Gen Moody Calls on DEA to Reexamine Opioid Prescription Quotas to Help Curb the Opioid Crisis

https://www.madisonfl.net/blog/atty-gen-moody-calls-on-dea-to-reexamine-opioid-prescription-quotas-to-help-curb-the-opioid-crisis/

TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody joined seven states in pushing federal regulators to consider more information as they set manufacturing limits on prescription painkillers in hopes a more thorough review will lead to fewer overdose deaths as the fight against the opioid crisis continues. The coalition filed comments late Tuesday arguing Drug Enforcement Administration officials must do more to account for over-prescribing and expand its universe of information sources.

Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Seventeen Floridians are dying every day from opioid abuse, as the national opioid crisis continues to ravage our country. To help reduce the excess supply of prescription opioids and save lives, I am calling on the DEA to reexamine the quotas that drug manufacturers have for specific painkiller production. This action could help reduce drug overdose deaths by limiting the amount of leftover pain medication that could fall into the hands of Floridians struggling with addiction.”

The coalition recognizes that current data sets make accounting for diversion difficult but argues such complexity cannot hinder progress. For instance, its members suggest that the DEA take into greater account data from its Drug Take Back Day as evidence of over-prescribing.

The states also suggest DEA officials should consider best practices developed by the medical community and state regulators, in addition to improving the usability of its reporting system and its suspicious orders database.

The DEA’s proposed limits for 2020 slash hydrocodone manufacturing by 19 percent and oxycodone by 8.8 percent in one year.

Florida’s attorney general joined six other states in the filing, including attorneys general in Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Nebraska, West Virginia and the governor of Kentucky.

 

Filed under: General Problems | 10 Comments »

Floater Pharmacist and “just like to say no” ? could care less abt the consequences to the pt ?

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Pharmaciststeve
Steve I have a CPP that is in a very bad place. Is there any way you can guide her through this. She was denied all of her meds. and now today is cold turkey. She said she wishes she was dead
she was denied her meds from prescriber or pharmacy ?
Pharmacy and now medicare pulled her prior approval
Now everyone has gone home knowing she has nothing
why was PA pulled
She has no idea
let me guess she is dealing with a chain … maybe CVS or Walgreen ?
CVS
I would bet that the pharmacist is opiophobic and called the Part D prgm and told them some sort of lie
Oh I am guessing same
She is in late 60’s to early 70’s
have her find a independent pharmacy http://www.ncpanet.org/home/find-your-local-pharmacy call CMS 800-MEDICARE and file complaint against CVS… have her go on line pharmacy board and file complaint with board of pharmacy unprofessional conduct, denial of care, pt abuse.. for starters… have her call the Part D and ask for reason PA was withdrawn – IN WRITING … file a complaint with CMS against them as well … tell me that it is not SILVER SCRIPTS Part D ?
Not Silver Scriots it’s the other one and I am beain dead
who is the PBM ?
She has an electronic script and they are refusing cash pay. It’s Express Scriots
Scripts
Paying cash when a pt has insurance is consider a RED FLAG by DEA
She tried that after pharmacy refused to fill
Dr. told them to let her pay cash
My understanding is that some chains … no insurance … no controls filled… even if the pt doesn’t have insurance… which means that they will not fill Rxs for about 10% of the population that doesn’t have insurance
She has Medicare Part D and I am pretty sure it is because Rx is ER
have doc to send new Rx to local indepenent and pay cash and argue about insurance covering when the sun comes up tomorrow
 
Dr. went home
doc could call in some Tylenol No.4 to hold her over for the night
Good idea. I even thought Clonidine
Clonidine MAY help with withdrawal issues but not pain…. Tylenol No.4 is still C-III and can be called in
I am letting her know
sorry couldn’t give you much more help tonight
I understand. I hate all of this
Once this is all straightened out… I would still file complaints with various oversight agencies
Ih I am making sure she does

She just sent me this Believe me, I realize that!!!!! Dr won’t call Tyl 4 in. He wants me to get thru til tom’w & see how it goes. So I don’t offend him, I gotta do what he asks. He really has been very good to me. He is the one who got me emergency surgery 10 mos ago after a Henry Ford Hospital neurosurgeon put surgical date 3 mos out. My MRI showed just millimeters away from severed spinal cord at C2 ( not conducive to life). PMP got me different Dr & surgery within 36 hrs!!! I owe him some respect
Also

My PMP called CVS pharmacist. Tonite’s “fill in” pharmacist absolutely REFUSES to fill my MS 60 at all!!!
Dr says the regular pharmacist will be there tom’w & he will fill it for cash. 🤞🏼. Those night time hours tick by so slowly under circumstances like this.
Both my sons are very upset because they feel so helpless. They remind me that this will only get worse & worse every month. They think I am at a crossroad – put up & shut up OR. Sign myself in & get off MS & pray I will be able to function

You know what is happening here
As if # dozen Tylenol No.4 could cause the his world to come to a end… i guess that his empathy is only good during office hours
Floater pharmacists are the worse… they don’t know the pt… they don’t know the prescriber… so … they just say NO
I fear tomorrow reality is gonna hit. I’m afraid she is losing her Dr. Will blame on DEA flag
Part D prgms don’t normally pull a PA without some outside “bad news” being pushed at them
They want her tapered
who is “they”
Medicare
This is her current dose MS Contin 60mg 3x/day. Plus MS Contin 15 mg 2x/day breakthru
one of the basics of the practice of medicine is starting, changing. stopping a pt’s therapy… Part D is NOT MEDICARE .. it is private FOR PROFIT insurance … so the private insurance company is attempting to practice medicine ?… no license… just interested in increasing their bottom line
Yes
Find out who the Part D medical director is… he/she is responsible for this… is the only one who has legal authority to practice medicine… but…doubt if he/she has a license to practice medicine in the state the pt lives – ILLEGAL… and according to the Controlled Substance Act… it is ILLEGAL for a prescriber to prescribe for a pt .. who they have not done a in person physical exam… call the Part D and tell them that she is going to file a complaint with the state he/she is licensed in and the state the pt lives in … as well as the DEA for violating the controlled substance act.. I have had to do that a couple of time with our Part D and they seem to quickly change their mind about PA
Thank you Steve
I have NEVER lost a PA nor a rejection with our Part D… I know too much… and it is easier just to approve the PA for me or wife… than to risk just how much trouble I could cause

she would like your email so she can update you on her status and thank you for your advice and compassion
Linda just heard from Exoress Scriotscand this is what they said You will NOT BELIEVE THIS!!!!! I just got a call from EXPRESS SCRIPTS PHARMACIST in approval Dept. He says my rxs were NOT DENIED. They continue to be approved thru Feb 2020. Those CVS pharmacists yesterday were called by him to tell them they were coding wrong AND how to fix it STAT so I could get my rxs. Both those pharmacists told him they refuse to fill them anyway! UNFUCINBELIEVABLE!

She just got her rx

This is an exchange with a chronic pain pt’s advocate/friend.   Once again this sort of scenario involves a “floater pharmacist” and one of the two major chain stores.

Pt can file complaints with the Pharmacist’s employer, the state board of Pharmacy, the PBM/insurance company and most likely the pt will get the response that “they” can’t force a Pharmacist to fill a Rx… which is true…

But we have a very serious and growing Pharmacist SURPLUS and if the Pharmacist’s employer was not happy with how their employee Pharmacist is treating pts who wish to patronize their pharmacy… They could fire them on the spot… but.. they don’t… so are they condoning this sort of denial of care ?

The Board of Pharmacy will tell the pt the same thing…  Is this because the pt has not filed a complaint about being lied to, denial of care, pt abuse – intentionally throwing a pt into cold turkey withdrawal… IMO … all involving UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT… it is normal for bureaucrats not to really look for trouble.

The PBM/Insurance company MAKES MONEY when they don’t have to pay for a prescription that they should have paid for… because Pharmacists deny filling legit prescriptions most of these are FOR PROFIT COMPANIES.

UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT is a very broad/vague concept and maybe it is time for pt denied appropriate care start filing complaints with the state board of pharmacy for all the UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT that I heard from pts every week…

One or two complaints are not going to get the BOP to take action… they will dismiss the complaints are “disgruntled substance abuser”… because they don’t know/understand that a substance abuser would never call attention to themselves with anyone in law enforcement.

Filed under: General Problems | 1 Comment »

« Previous Page — Next Page »