I keep wondering why no one has been able to find an attorney to help resolve these issues of pain pts and those with subjective diseases cannot get their legally prescribed, on time, medically necessary Rxs.
I see TV commercial after commercial about personal injury lawyers who wants to sue just about anyone… car accident… “bad drug”…
IMO.. the DEA has put out some public statements that attempts to keep the ACLU at bay.. because the ACLU’s mission statement is to sue the government when they violate the constitution or our laws. Basically, the DEA has made statements that claim that they are doing nothing to interfere with legit pts getting their meds. However, it would appear that they are telling their registrants ( wholesalers, prescribers, pharmacies/Pharmacist ) that they are going to “take them out” if they get a single dose in the wrong hand. So the best way to make sure that you do this.. is to stop putting any doses in any hand.
Some states – Indiana, Washington, Ohio, Florida has institute some laws or interpretations of laws that have put some arbitrary daily mg limits on those with chronic pain and need opiates. Since most of these issues have been initiated by bureaucrats – including many attorneys – who think that they are able to practice medicine without a license or apply some “cookie-cutter” approach to treating chronic pain.
There are many components to our judicial system.. from the cop on the street.. the judge on the bench, the attorneys in private practice.. up thru the Attorney general at the state level to the Attorney General at the Federal level. The DEA – part of the DOJ – employs some 12 K at the federal level. After nearly 45 yrs fighting this war.. and now spending 51 billion annually.. at least at face value… the war is either unwinnable and/or those involved are quite happy with the status quo.
Being an attorney is mostly a local business… it appears to have its own local ecosystem.. as well as a larger ecosystem at the state and federal level. Imagine the potential repercussions to an attorney or attorney group that attempted to disrupt that war on drugs ecosystem… by suing the wholesalers, pharmacies and prescribers for harming pts because they are basically following the “unwritten rules” of the DEA concerning the war on drugs.
Pts have called the DEA, the AG’s office, FDA, corporate headquarters… all pts have been told that they cannot force a Pharmacist to fill your Rx.. even if it is legit/on time/medically necessary.. your prescription being filled is at the discretion of the Pharmacist. What they are not saying is that they can intimidate, bully the Pharmacist into not filling your Rx.. under the part of the DEA statue of “corresponding responsibility”.
It would seem to me that the PHARMACIST is the low hanging fruit in all of this… typically.. they don’t have that deep a pockets and their corporate employer has disavowed any involvement with the Pharmacist turning down a Rx.
These Pharmacists keep reminding you that they are “doctors” and that they are the medication experts. As “medication experts” they should have full knowledge of the consequences to a pt that has been taking opiates for a long period of time.. when they are abruptly “cut off” and forced to go cold turkey and thrown into elevated pain and withdrawal. Pain may have never killed anyone… but.. cold turkey withdrawal can..
It doesn’t cost a lot to file a lawsuit against a individual Pharmacist… for a number of decisions that falls under irresponsible negligence by them that adversely affected the pt’s quality of life. They are the self-proclaimed “medication experts”.
Cooperation of a prescriber and could possibly get a class action against a single pharmacist… at a single store… This won’t mess with the war on drugs “ecosystem”…but.. it sure will get the attention of some individual Pharmacists.. You get one-two successful settlements – against the Pharmacist’s professional liability insurance and the personal injury attorneys will start circling like vultures… If you have contacted an attorney before.. they might not have considered this approach… might want to contact them again…
It is necessary to video your interaction of being denied.. suggest that you take someone along that can stand aside to video the interaction. They won’t be able to deny what was said.. they say a picture is worth a 1000 words… what does that say about a video ?
If you get one or two Pharmacists that will sign statements that their inability to fill Rxs is because of the wholesalers rationing/limiting of their ability to purchase sufficient quantities to fill the legit Rxs they are presented.. The attorneys should be able to use this information to lay the ground work for a class action against at least the three major wholesalers.. that control 85% of the market.
Once the wholesalers admit that they are acting (rationing) out of fear of being fined by the DEA.. then the door will be opened for the ACLU to proceed with action against the DEA.. for violating our laws.. GAME OVER !
Filed under: General Problems
It may interest some that morphine is[generic]one of the least expensive for insuranceless people.also,not loaded with acetaminophen,a real liver killer.But even the word ‘morphine’sends most uninformed or pain free folks into epileptic fits of blood dripping horror.Unbelievable.This,in the days where the thoughts of people is only evil continually.The last time things got this bad,there was a world wide flood.if you see the news,there are hit and runs and public shootings[usually schools]on a daily basis.RSD lady is right.There’s more focus on erection viability than the evil.Most amazingly,the best President weve had in 100 years is being harrased with an indictment[I guess he’s too patriotic!]while an 80 yr.old with dementia is drooling on himself in the oval office.Ashamed to be American,at this point.Flip on the 1776 switch.Put GOD Almighty in the heart of all public functions and homes.Shoe compassion for those that cant even get outta bed without medicine,whatever it be,scheduled included.I’m sick at heart and angry!A retired merchant marine.I earned my medicare,paid tax,served God and country.Now kicked to the curb like an old shoe.I pray for restoration!!
Actually Oxycodone is available with no Acetaminophen/Tylenol in it. Unlike Percodan/Percocet and the IR in particular is fairly inexpensive
2 years later still allowed to happen..sickening. So im forced to take mediicne that gives me horrible side effects has even cost me a job.
Great analysis of the ecosystems and a great strategy for opening the door for the ACLU.
I’ve tried to hire several different attorneys over the past year or so. Of course, I tried with the well known large firms, but I also tried with several that advertise there advocates for the disabled. I myself, earlier this year, had both my regular physician and my pain management doctor, both of them signed a form that is available from the State (florida) in my case, they signed that I’m permanently & totally disabled, which includes wheelchair use. I just don’t understand, except forvsome reasons given above in other comments, why an attorney, who I can afford to pay his bill, won’t even attempt to consider a lawsuit.
[…] Suing Individual Pharmacists […]
You can add Tennessee to that list of states that have instituted limits on morphine equivalents that a patient can take per day. I really don’t believe the law was changed though, the DEA is just strong-arming the pain clinics. The TN law states that any patient that requires over 200 milli-equivalents of morphine per day, MUST be referred to a state-licensed pain clinic. Now, as of the beginning of 2015, no patient is allowed to take more that 200 milli-equivalents per day. Like I said, written law was not changed, DEA is imposing the limits and threatening to pull clinics licenses if they don’t comply. So, what is the point of having state-licensed pain clinics?!
I would love to be the case that challenges if a poor disabled chronic pain patient could find a attorney more interested in human rights and suffering. I volunteer. Week started horribly after the stress of the pain clinic keeping me up for the week before with anxiety. Because I needed him to contact the insurance company to get pre-approval for my morphine I let myself be strong armed into the useless injections. Don’t know how a federal blue cross program could require this for narcotics-cheap generic lol that I have been on for 15 years. So now we have the pharmacies against the disabled and choosing to decide what medication I need and the state deciding what dose and pressuring doctors. It dawned on me as I read one of your blogs last night about the number of prescriptions wrote. Mine is actually 3 because the dose doesn’t come in one tablet. Costs me 3 copays but not complaining. But hasn’t all those smart enough to tell me what I need figured out that one person may need more-rather than the media yelling that the entire USA is addicted. I have the two for morphine and the one for Percocet and since they stupidly made lyrica scheduled I guess this socially acceptable drug is counted also. I have played about as good as I can but if stress can make a person worse it has. Thanks again for your Information. My better half has decided that it’s the government way to get rid of the useless.
[…] https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=8720 […]
The pharmaceutical companies have attorneys. They need to help us. They could band with the ACLU and get something done. We need reform now. If the DEA wants to get addicts, they need to start busting drug houses like they did back in the eighties.
The pharmaceutical companies will not help us obtain generic medications like morphine or oxycodone……if this was a drug like Viagra, believe me there would be all hands on deck helping. They don’t make much money from theach generic drugs…..very thin profit margins.
Lawyers are looking for ‘deep pockets’. I am afraid the lowly pharmacist does not have deep enough pockets for these lawyers. Pharmacists are not the cause of the problem. The cause is the DEA. Our government is just full of money wasting agencies and stupid agencies and the DEA is one of them. But, getting rid of an agency or having them tone it down goes against the direction of government. The direction of government is more and more power and more and more control of our lives.
You are partially correct… the ones that advertise on TV – personal injury – are just as interested in those that they can make “threats” and end up settling for 10 K -20 K.. it is all handled by Paralegals or lowly new grads at the bottom of the attorney food chain sending letters back and forth.. These PharmD’s – especially the young ones – are fearful of both the DEA and the corporation bullies. They are being “good little soldiers”.. They get sued for throwing someone into withdrawal.. and lose.. and they don’t have their own personal professional liability insurance.. which may or may not cover – even if they do – since denying someone that has been on a opiates for years without a valid reason – based on facts – is bad judgement or irresponsible negligence and insurance may not pay up at least not after the first time.. and since the corporation has told them.. it is the Pharmacist professional discretion not to fill.. will most likely not stand behind the Pharmacist and pay or help pay the settlement. The Pharmacist may end up finding themselves hung out to dry.. all the while they thought that they were following all the rules. The settlement could cascade into a fine for violating the ADA and being charged with unprofessional conduct by the BOP. At this point.. who does the Pharmacist fear… how is their professional discretion influenced in the future ?