[Wild Irish Rogue]

"Doctor shopping So what?.. that's not illegal and happens all the time,all over the country.."

Actually,doctor shopping, which is the legal term for going from MD to MD,for the purpose of obtaining narcotics under fraudulent circumstances,is illegal.Getting a second opinion or finding a physician you are more compatible with,is not. Florida passed a new law-SB 640, which now makes it a third degree felony to doctor shop for narcotics.Under SB 640, a doctor who prescribes a controlled substance that is excessive or inappropriate, can also be charged with a felony. The prosecutors are going to check the prescribing physician's records to see if they met the standard of care,for prescribing Schedule II narcotics. The standard of care would be a thorough physical exam, a medical history,requesting the patient's old medical records and speaking with his previous physicians, ordering diagnostic tests,referrals to pain management and neurologists for evaluation, possible physical therapy, etc. They are also going to follow the pharmacological paper trail. If the prosecutors were Republicans, I think they would have probably done the same thing-in order to avoid looking like they were cutting political favors.The bottom line is that Florida law gives the prosecutors the cover they need, to go after Rush.

[Az Joe]

Nice post. Let's see where the chips fall.

[zx2dragon]

You answered my question, thanks.

As for this whole thing with Rush, I doubt we're hearing everything and we probably won't until the investigation is done. I'll reserve any opinions until that time.

[Kay]

You must be quite familiar with Florida medical laws. In my state, the patient gets the protection. If a patient goes to a doctor with pain, their pain MUST be addressed, treated, and relieved (to the best ability) or the doctor is legally liable. (Not malpractice but legally.) The narcotic laws are liberal. No laws against "double dipping" in this state.

There was a case of a doctor who took a patient's word that they had cancer and treated the patient for years with dilaudid, having never requested the pathology reports. Doc got in trouble with the DOJ. But overall, the laws are very much in favor of the patient and their pain.

Have to say that if I were in pain, I would rather live in my state than in Florida. Unfortunately, many doctors don't understand pain management (eg. treat metastatic liver disease with vicodin----go figure) while some docs are wonderfully supportive and thorough.