51 yr old Patient comes to ER after falling 3 days prior. They are in severe back pain barely able to walk, tried to tough it out. Xrays shows fractured T9/10. They were given 12 Percocet 5’s. 1 every 4 hrs next day follow up w/neurosurgeons NP. Patient arrives next day & told ER failed to schedule w/ office. Patient shows paperwork appt was that day. Office states they will have to come back next day. Patient shows next day 8:30am. After reviewing file orders more tests & will RX additional medication. They were advised it would be sent in within 2 hours. Patient waited 4 hours & called office. Was told Dr hasn’t had time. Patient advised severe pain & it was very close to their next dose & was only given 2 days of meds. Office advised within an hour. Patient waits 2 hrs calls again. Told the same thing. Patient waits & calls back as advised. They got the after hours who said sorry there is nothing they can do. Patient pleads they are in severe pain there has to be someone who could help. Was told it would have to wait until next day. Patient calls next day to be told they have been banned from that facility & their affiliates (including the hospital they were seen at) because of drug seeking behavior. Imagine that, 2 broken vertebrae, severe pain & needing medication. (Patient already taking Tylenol & Ibuprofen & NO that is not the same or better then pain medication when your back is broke.) Patient also has had gastric bypass, stomach ulcers & has explained why they can’t take NSAIDS. Patient now in bad stomach pain. My question to Dr’s which are you more concerned with? 1. DEA because they track your Opioid prescriptions.
2. Patient because they have a legitimate need w/ proven documentation & the patient should come first.
Such patient is filing med mal lawsuit. (It took patient 1 week to find & receive medication, patient still in severe pain bed bound)
Filed under: General Problems
At this point, the government is literally pushing people in severe pain to 1) drink large amounts of alcohol, 2) take illicit (& dangerous) illicit opioids or 3) commit suicide … all in the effort to dull their suffering.
It happens in my town all the time. Hospitals won’t prescribe anything for pain. Most Dr.s won’t either. What choice do does a person have bit to get meds off the street?
Cowardice? Yes. But we would do the same thing in their position.
All these prescribers have to do – before the vultures start circling – is create a irrevocable trust and put all their assets in the trust…it will make them legally penniless … the DEA is like robbers – they go after the easiest targets… who really believe that the primary goal of DEA is to go after prescribers to cut down on the number of Rxs they are writing.. The DEA gets to put in their coffers all the $$$ that they can get from using the Civil Asset Forfeiture Act… and generally setting up a irrevocable trust will cost the prescriber < $10,000... To protect their net worth from being confiscated ... is not all that much money.
I like it. I agree.
Now how does pharmaceutical manufacturing protect themselves?
The DOJ/AG is basically providing themselves a license to steal as not one single judge will resist the ‘prosecution’ no matter how very clear the defense is.
I saw all of the J&J Trial in Oklahoma and J&J never put a foot wrong while the AG prosecutors never made one valid MEDICAL point but rode ‘the poor overdoser’ train all the way to BILLIONS of dollars.
This of course, is the biggest feed for these vultures and it just spreads fear on down the line. Is it not just easier for the typical doctor just to say “no” and keep themselves safe from the DOJ/AG forever?
Yes, and the DEA is another species of robber operating separately from the DOJ/AG, and understand well the utility of ‘asset forfeiture’. I can easily see how all doctors need to create the irrevocable trusts. Maybe that is where the next effort of us shattered pain patients must begin.
The DOJ/AG has them so scared now that they will say anything. They can’t even tell the truth. It’s US or THEM and they must choose THEM, because they have no power.