Posted on 08/16/2019 9:48:34 AM PDT by grumpygresh
1. The California Attorney General's office reported Dr. Keller was arrested and arraigned in connection with five patient deaths after he prescribed them "dangerously high levels of addictive opioids and narcotics." He allegedly prescribed Vicodin, oxycodone, OxyContin, Percocet and morphine outside acceptable levels for clinical practice.
2. Dr. Keller faces second-degree murder charges related to nine patients and felony elder abuse charges connected with five patient deaths. He is in custody, and his bail review is scheduled for Aug. 20.
3. A complaint filed in the Superior Court for Santa Rosa County alleges Dr. Keller prescribed maximum dosages of 180 to 300 pills per prescription, which exceeds the 50 mg Morphine Equivalent Dosage standard set by the CDC. He received red flag warnings from pharmacies and insurance companies, but continued to prescribe the high level of dosages
(Excerpt) Read more at beckersspine.com ...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6369835/
https://www.cato.org/blog/washington-post-revelation-pain-pill-distribution-only-helps-fuel-false-narrative
https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/scapegoating-opioid-makers-lets-true-offender-get-away
Dr. Keller prescribed maximum dosages of 180 to 300 pills per prescription, which exceeds the 50 mg Morphine Equivalent Dosage standard set by the CDC. He received red flag warnings from pharmacies and insurance companies, but continued to prescribe the high level of dosages...
YOU’RE KIDDING RIGHT?!?!?!?
And WHAT DRUG do you think got kids on the way to buying cheaper heroin??
Roxys.
If you know NOTHING about street level dealing I pray that you stay in your books and have no real part in fighting the epidemic out there.
You’d have to dig into the patient cases on this one.
Since he’s a neurosurgeon he’s probably dealing with brain tumor cases. For those incurables waiting to die that aren’t willing to smoke joints, oxy is the only way to go. In these cases as patients constantly cry out in pain, they hand out pills like candy, to which I have no problem.
It could be family members trying to capitalize on the situation.
And it didn’t say he prescribed too high a dose per day, just too many pills per prescription including refills. So the only people “at risk” are the ones who don’t take the meds as prescribed. Sounds like it’s the “standards” that are out of whack. As usual, inconveniencing the normals so the edge cases have more difficulty harming themselves.
BTW, his biggest script, which would cost me a 5 dollar co pay is worth between TWELVE and TWENTY FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS on the street.
NOTHING like that should be written out.
Those numbers are like what that old wind bag was taking at his peak
When I was a Neurosurgery Resident we had one patient with Dexedrine Roussy Syndrome come in on 400 mg of Morphine a day. I have seen people with Tic Doulouroux on very high doses of Morphine. I, personally, felt it was inappropriate for my own reasons but it has never been a crime, AFAIK.
There are major issues with how the government is interjecting itself in the prescription opiod issue. Many people that need this drug can no longer get the levels they need. Anytime government gets involved the end result will not be good.
This whole “crisis” is being overplayed.
Sorry autocorrect turned “Dejerine” into Dexedrine.
Indeed
180-300 pills if 10mg lortab or Percocet is hardly lethal for a months use
[[addictive opioids and narcotics.]]
When opioids are taken as prescribed, they have a mere 2% addiction rate- this has been proven with several large studies-
The deaths that come from prescription opioids are the majority drug addicts who have conned their doctors into giving them prescriptions, and that take way more of the prescribed drugs than the prescription calls for AND mixes them with alcohol AND OR other illegal drugs
Even at high doses, when taken as prescribed, the addiction rate is still only around 2%
“He received red flag warnings from pharmacies and insurance companies, but continued to prescribe the high level of dosages”
As one who has personally suffered from this epidemic and seen how it destroys young people, I have zero sympathy for this doc. I seriously doubt he has that many terminal brain cancer patients to warrant this extremely high rate of pill scripts.
[[This whole “crisis” is being overplayed.]]
There is no crisis in the legally prescribed arena- there is however a crisis among street addicts who con their doctors into getting prescriptions, and who mix them with either other illegal drugs, or alcohol, or all three- The vast majority of deaths showed that the victims were abusing drugs-
Just like the gun issue- the left want to ‘solve’ the problem by victimizing law abiding citizens who are NOT in danger of addiction
Dude, Read the articles that I posted,
The deaths are coming from street drugs - heroin and fentanyl and are mostly in the younger age groups.
If you want to fight the epidemic it has to be with interdiction and that means 3 things.
1. Secure the border.
2. Stop protecting poppy fields in Afghanistan.
3. Investigate corruption at DEA and DOJ.
We have spent billions on the war on drugs with NO improvement in opioid and drug overdose deaths. The DEA has a vested interest in keeping the “war” going and corruption is probably rampant. The problem is that the agents, prosecutors, money laundering banks, and politicians behind this are too big to jail. This is a lot like the ATF fast and furious scam but this has bigger and has been going on for a lot longer.
WAKE UP. The government not your friend and stop accepting the government propaganda as your only news source.
Now seriously, what do you think the DEA does with the hundred of millions of dollars of drugs that they seize? Are you so naïve that you think that they are destroyed? We have more than 20 trillion in debt you know.
If so, WOW a real government lover on FR.
One of my docs called me, so upset that she had trusted the, almost 80 yr old patient/ sweetest lil lady in the world, over my negative lab results.
The patient confessed to selling her pills.
I told her, I wasn’t offended, I knew my results were reliable.
This sweet lil old lady was pocketing a couple grand a month.
Here we go again I have been down this road before start accusing doctors core prescribing a patient’s medications they need and charging them with crimes this has happened several times in the past it needs to come to an end do not get between me and my doctor
‘This whole “crisis” is being overplayed.’
think ‘Reefer Madness’ and the Volstead Act; same government mindset at work...
There are major issues with how the government is interjecting itself in the prescription opiod issue. Many people that need this drug can no longer get the levels they need.
...
My sympathies are with the patients who need the painkillers.
For now, if that means some abusers die, that’s the way it is.
You got that right. These people with spinal columns that have deteriorated or discs that are bone on bone are just shit out of luck. They better start learning how to tough it out or plan on curing it themselves. Because not many moons down the road, they will be in a world of hurt. And the addicts will still be able to get all the drugs they want. Hospice was , in Florida, able to keep their patients pain free. Whether they will still be able to do that six months down the road is the question. But as usually the case, the innocents suffer and pay for the sins of the guilty.
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