Posted on 01/23/2004 6:30:09 AM PST by veronica
Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh is gaining some allies in his pain-pill case, including many of the medical profession's pain specialists.
"We're filing an amicus brief arguing that his medical records should not be released," said Dr. Jane Orient of Tucson, Ariz., executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.
Limbaugh, 53, is under investigation for allegations of doctor-shopping to get prescriptions for painkillers. Investigators say they believe Limbaugh bought more than 2,000 pills illegally over a five-month period. Court records show Limbaugh suffers from back pain and completed a monthlong drug-rehabilitation program in November.
Orient fears if the documents are released and Limbaugh is convicted, it will have a chilling effect on doctors who prescribe painkillers for the 50 million people who suffer from varying degrees of pain. She said it would be "terrifying" to some physicians, because they also can be prosecuted.
"It would really be a deterrent to prescribing painkillers, and a lot of patients really require a great deal of [painkillers]," she said. "Those patients do terrible things, like buy drugs on the street."
Joining the foundation in the case are the Florida Pain Initiative and the National Foundation for the Treatment of Pain. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) also had joined the case on Limbaugh's behalf.
Limbaugh's lawyer, Roy Black, and the ACLU believe the confiscation of his medical records by investigators last year was a violation of his right to privacy. Black has appealed the original decision to allow the confiscation of the records.
The well-known attorney has not been giving any interviews in the case, but in a prepared statement said: "The issues raised in this appeal affect all Floridians, regardless of their political inclinations. As both the ACLU and we have stated, the seizure of Mr. Limbaugh's private medical records without due process is not only a violation of Florida law and the Florida Constitution, but also a threat to everyone's fundamental right to privacy."
An investigator for Assistant State Attorney James Martz briefly examined Limbaugh's medical records after Circuit Judge Jeffrey Winikoff of West Palm Beach issued an order allowing prosecutors to do so. Winikoff soon froze his ruling to give Limbaugh a chance to appeal. Doctor-shopping is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
"We're concerned about the doctor-shopping law," Orient said. "It's called getting a second opinion." She said refraining from telling the second doctor what the first doctor said only helps ensure an unbiased opinion.
The case began when Limbaugh's maid went to authorities and the National Enquirer tabloid about his use of painkillers. Investigators said he bought 2,300 pills ordered by four doctors over a five-month period. Limbaugh said the maid blackmailed him for $4 million.
During a hearing on Dec. 22, Black said Limbaugh was being legitimately treated for a spinal condition and ear surgery.
Mary Baluss, attorney for the three medical organizations, said that Limbaugh is a pain patient, not an addict. Baluss said pain patients need the privacy of their records to be protected more than other patients. She compared pain patients to HIV-positive patients of 20 years ago because both groups carry negative stigmatization.
The Palm Beach Post has said an investigation revealed that Palm Beach County prosecutors have charged only one other person under the doctor-shopping law in the last five years, and that case never went to trial because the accused died.
"The Post's research confirms what we have been saying all along: Rush Limbaugh has been singled out for special prosecution because of who he is," Black said in another written statement. "We believe the state attorney's office is applying a double standard."
Les Kjos writes for UPI, a sister wire service of Insight magazine.
From all I've read, Rush has treated his docs with cruel dishonesty. Do you care about the position they've found themselves in?
I didn't think so. You're just here with liberal-speak about "rights" that translate into a kind of professional enslavement.
I don't know much about this group; I'll be reading up on it. Most "groups" of this sort consist of docs who are sick of treating patients and are looking for a job in advocacy or sitting on the board of some organization.
This is the case of most of the governing boards of the specialties--doc gets tired and burnt out, wants some sort of admin job bossing around other doctors...
Lately a lot of laws have been passed concerning privacy that add a lot to your hospitalization bill--silly little things about calling you name in a waiting room. New laws are allowing specialists to avoid certain kinds of emergency room on call services--very scary. You really want that neuro when you bash up your back in a car wreck.
The revelation to many pros is that it may well be a criminal act of some sort to lie and attempt to trick a doc into prescribing drugs. They didn't realize that. Wading through masses of clever and stupid lies takes hours out of every day...
They are now wondering, hospital admins and technicians, if this might be a means to try to protect themselves from these predatory sorts of patients.
There's a lot of talk about how professionals can protect themselves from a public clearly bent on eating them alive at any opportunity. I always say..."When M. Country Western Star walks through the door, help him dry out and then call his real doctor in Dallas..."
It's not the State's business what Limbaugh eats.
Are you suggesting that ordinary citizens should have the same freedoms as Rush?!
You come off like a thread cop.
Since docs are criticized here for their ineptitude in improperly treating celebrities, I'll continue to point out that they were deceived and perhaps had a criminal fraud perpetrated against *them*. And every doc (or, what is more important--the technicians, nursing, hospital billing personnel, "greeters", etc.,) ought to take a cautious view of celebrities in general.
We don't hear much from that surgeon who did his ears. Is he joining in the "amicus brief"?
He's the one who'll be heard from eventually.
Are you suggesting Rush isn't an ordinary citizen?
Even people in hospital admins could not answer that question clearly for you. The law is such that people wanting to obey it will probably find it impossible and contradictory. Then the government can pick and choose over who it will be enforced against.
Like so many regulations, it is designed to make a criminal out of whoever the powers want to see criminalized.
Yeah, pregnant women are a problem, too. If the baby has problems, the doctor can be sued. Most hospitals should get rid of their Emergency Rooms. Too many people complain about treatment and open you up to a lawsuit. Cancer and AIDS treatment can also open you up to unwanted scrutiny. Never prescribe a prescription pain killer. Even if a femur is sticking out of their leg, don't go stronger than Tylenol. Really, doctors should stick to non-celebrity hair transplant and breast augmentation, although their have been lawsuits filed over breast augmentation. Most guys won't sue over their hair, because they don't want to admit that they've had treatment, but the field may get overcrowded.
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