When Doctors Take Dissenting Patients To Court, Society Loses

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

doctors and courts

http://www.inquisitr.com/1744821/when-doctors-take-dissenting-patients-to-court-society-loses/#UIMhzDiO6wGK2t4j.99

A controversial decision by the Connecticut supreme court forcing a very unwilling teen into chemotherapy treatment for her cancer has been garnering a lot of attention and opened a huge debate about the rights of patients and the role of doctors. Do doctors have the right to override dissenting patients if they don’t agree with the patient’s decisions? While some feel that the court made the correct decision because of Cassandra Fortin’s age — she’s 17 — or because of her particular condition — she has cancer — others are completely outraged at this gross violation patient rights. There are grave concerns of a slippery slope as the number of these cases rise. This abhorrent behavior on the part of doctors and others in the medical profession is not limited to cancer patients, or teenagers.

You need to read this lengthy article.. the above is just an example.. our court system… IMO… is more influenced by a particular judge’s personal beliefs or biases.. the interpretation of the laws on the books is all over the place..

I don’t want to get into a debate whether a 17 yr should be able to make this decision… but.. if a 17 y/o killed someone or something really seriously against the law.. would our same judicial system try them as a juvenile or an adult ?… my money is on they would be tried as an adult. I believe that this girl was within a few months in turning 18 y/o … would that me that she would have developed sufficient wisdom in those few months to have the right to make a decision. ?

Hundreds of pregnant women have been court ordered into procedures they declined by doctors, who were perturbed by the patients’ dissenting opinions to medical advice. Most disturbing was the case of Angela Carder, a pregnant woman who relapsed with cancer. Her dearest wish was to remain alive long enough to deliver and hold her baby, even if it meant sacrificing her own life. An over-zealous doctor, concerned by Carder’s deteriorating condition, went to court and obtained an order allowing her to deliver Carder’s baby by Cesarean section at 26.5 weeks gestation. Carder, her husband, her parents, and her lawyer all vehemently protested this decision, even as Carder was being unwillingly wheeled into the operating room. The surgery killed Carder and her baby.

No corresponding responsibility for COLLATERAL DAMAGE ?

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The DEA Knows exactly what they are doing ?

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

This is a comment on my blog a few days ago .. in response to my post

Second “I’m not comfortable” TV reports from Orlando in < 7 days

“The DEA Knows exactly what they are doing, they never tell pharmacist who to fill, they just scare the pharmacist bad enough and tell him he will close the pharmacy and send the pharmacist to jail, if he fills a bad prescription. So then the DEA Agent just comes into the pharmacy and says ” I would like to see Dr Jone’s prescriptions he has been writing lately. and then the DEA agent leaves and the terrified Pharmacist says to his staff “don’t fill Dr Jone’s Scripts, he is being watched by DEA!! This is all part of the agents plan and now that pharmacy does not fill Dr. Jone’s PATIENTS SCRIPTS”

When I read this.. I wondered, why would a DEA agent come to a pharmacy to see what a particular doctor is prescribing… why not go to the particular doc’s office and ask the question?

A inside joke with some of my friends is that “I know people in low places… that knows people in LOWER PLACES “… so I reached out to one of these people .. retired from working for the DOJ…

As best as I can ascertain… The DEA agent is not breaking any law – including HIPAA – for ASKING for the information… The only way that a DEA agent is legally entitled to person health information contained in a Pharmacy prescription files is with a subpoena or court order… but by ASKING the Pharmacist and the Pharmacist turns that PHI over to the DEA agent.. the Pharmacist is violating HIPAA … by doing so without a court order or written permission from the pts involved. It is not ILLEGAL for the DEA to possess this PHI obtained this way.

Also my understanding of WAG’S good faith policy.. when a WAG’S Pharmacist declines a control Rx .. the policy mandates that a copy be sent to the local DEA office.. IMO.. WAGS doesn’t have the legal authority to mandate this PHI to be turned over to the DEA.. I find it hard to believe that a court system would/could issue a blanket order for WAGS to do this. I have seen WAGS stating in public statements time and time again that the cannot force one of their Pharmacist to fill or not fill a Rx that they are “not comfortable with”.. Everything is the Pharmacist’s own professional discretion or decision… So could it be.. a WAGS Pharmacist following these good faith policy guidelines and turning copies of these controlled Rxs over to the DEA… be their PROFESSIONAL DECISION to violate HIPAA.. unless they have a court order for regarding a specific pt and/or the specific pt has signed a HIPAA release allowing that information to be shared with the DEA ?

One of these days, Pharmacists are going to realize that they are out their on a very small limb ALL BY THEMSELVES and those within our judicial system or corporate America will cut that limb off.. because while their ability to stroke your ego about your professional discretion.. you are completely expendable .. because they have another naive Pharmacist waiting in line to climb out on another limb… confident that they are TOO SMART to let something like that happening to them… because they are going to be a “good little company person”

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This is not going to be a PC post.. I know it.. I don’t care !

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

The above picture is of the Jordanian 20 something pilot.. that those numb-nuts set on fire.. apparently a month ago.. I have not seen more than the above frame and don’t want to see the entire video.. but from what has been described.. it was done with a high amount of “commercial production”

This is the fourth (?) person that these numb-nuts have MURDERED… many in the world is incensed…

It has been 5 months since the first hostage has been murdered … 150 days +/-

In that same time frame:

6600 people have died of a drug/substance overdose… accidental or suicide… we don’t know.. our system doesn’t track the difference

3600 veterans have committed suicide

600 people have died of alcohol toxicity.

6600 people have died of hospital acquired MRSA because employees won’t properly wash their hands

16,500 have committed SUICIDE

35,000 people have died from alcohol use/abuse

180,000 people have died from tobacco use/abuse

400,000 people have died because of medical errors

I could go on .. but I hope that you get the point…

How many days is the media going to be on a “death watch” for Bobbi Kristina Brown after she apparently OD’d, attempted suicide.. 21 y/o normally don’t collapse face first in a tub of water…

Why are we – as a society – so obsessed with certain deaths… and others we seem to collectively YAWN !

We obviously – as a country – care more about those in the middle east that have been trying to kill each other for millenniums… we don’t know who are friends are… we give money to those who pretend to be our friends and then they turn around and piss in our soda.. Other than Israel in the middle east, we don’t seem to have any other true friends …

If we – as a country – are going to care about all lives… let’s do it then… and if we are going to be such hypocrites and only care about lives that have a high public profile…. let’s just be up front about it.

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Budget Seeks to Address Prescription Drug Abuse ?

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

Opioid Prescriptions Dispensed by US Retail Pharmacies IMS Health Credit: National Prescription Audit

Anyone believe that after already spending 51 BILLION/yr and over ONE TRILLION in the last 45 yrs.. that another 100 million is going to make any progress in a war that is as bad or worse than when it started in 1914 ? Notice they don’t label all overdose deaths as “accidental”.. how many suicides are BURIED in those numbers .. because of desperation or depression from unmanaged pain or denial of care.. Also notice that the graph only deals with the specific meds of Hydrocodone & Oxycodone.. can we presume that the difference is from Heroin use/abuse.. which is also on the rise equal or greater than legal medications ?

Over the past two decades deaths from drug overdose have been steadily rising and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States.

(TRNS) – President Obama’s 2016 proposed federal budget seeks $100 million in new investment to reduce the abuse of prescription opioids and heroin.

Over the past two decades deaths from drug overdose have been steadily rising and have become the leading cause of injury death in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control. Opioid and heroin overdose together take some 20,000 American lives each year.

The budget, released Monday, would increase funding for programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration and other agencies to fight prescription drug abuse. The Obama Administration also proposes increasing funding for states to expand their own prescription drug monitoring programs, and to support the increased use of naloxone, an opioid antagonist that reverses the effects of opioid overdose, by first responders.

Last year, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin devoted the annual State of the State to addressing the issue of heroin abuse after watching addiction numbers rise in his state.

The number of prescriptions for opioid have escalated from around 76 million in 1991 to nearly 207 million in 2013. The CDC cites the increases in the number of prescriptions written and dispensed as reason for the increased abuse, along with greater social acceptability for using medications for different purposes and aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies.

In 1991… the oldest “baby boomer” was in their mid – 40’s… and the youngest “baby boomer” was in their late 20’s.. in 2013 the youngest “baby boomer” was 49 and the oldest ‘baby boomer” was 66. Can’t get real good stats.. but the first knee replacement was done in 1968 and there are nearly 500,000 today in the USA. In 1990 there was 31 million 65+ …today there is abt 46 million… 65+ From 12% to 15% of the population.. http://www.census.gov/prod/1/pop/p23-190/p23-190.pdf

Prescription opioids are similar to, and act on the same brain systems affected by, heroin and morphine.

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DEA sidesteps constraints created by the United States Constitution ?

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

How DEA Keeps Defendants in the Dark on Role Intelligence Agencies Play in Their Prosecution

http://dissenter.firedoglake.com/2015/02/03/how-dea-keeps-defendants-in-the-dark-on-role-intelligence-agencies-play-in-their-prosecution/

Drug Enforcement Agency training guides reveal details about how law enforcement agencies go about concealing how evidence from intelligence agencies may have been used to prosecute a person. They show how DEA agents, law enforcement and prosecutors cooperate together to essentially sidestep constraints created by the United States Constitution and statutory requirements for open and fair criminal trials.

Journalist CJ Ciaramella obtained multiple versions of a DEA training guide in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted on August 5, 2013, for “all DEA memoranda, training materials and official policies regarding ‘parallel construction,’ the act of recreating an investigative trail to obscure the original methods used.”

Agents involved in making arrests pretend their investigations begin with traffic stops, not tips from the unit, the Special Operations Division, which is made up of “two dozen partner agencies,” including the CIA, NSA, FBI, the Homeland Security Department and Internal Revenue Service.

Based off the training guides [PDF], “parallel construction” has been taught by the Justice Department’s training center since at least 2007.

“The documents showcase the DEA’s strategies for keeping defendants in the dark about the role intelligence agencies play in ordinary criminal investigations,” explained ACLU National Security Project staff attorney Patrick Toomey. “These policies undercut the due process rights of criminal defendants, including their right to a fair trial, and prevent courts from considering the legality of controversial surveillance programs.”

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What is that old saying “you get what you pay for “?

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/walmart-gmc-target-and-walgreens-under-fire-for-selling-bogus-supplements

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says an ongoing investigation by his office has found numerous store brand herbal supplements aren’t what their labels claim to be.

Schneiderman says Tuesday that his office has sent letters to four major retailers concerning supplements that either couldn’t be verified to contain the labeled substance or that contained ingredients not listed on the label.

The retailers are GNC, Target, Walmart, and Walgreens.

The products include echinacea, ginseng, St. John’s wort, garlic, ginkgo biloba and saw palmetto.

Schneiderman asked the companies to provide detailed information on production, processing, testing and quality control for herbal supplements sold at their stores.

Walgreen’s says it’s removing the cited products from its shelves nationwide as the company reviews the matter with Schneiderman’s office.

Some key findings in the investigation by the New York state Attorney General’s Office into the store brand herbal supplements sold by four major retailers: GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens:

GNC

— 120 DNA tests run on 24 bottles of the herbal products purchased

— DNA matched label identification 22% of the time.

— Among contaminants identified: asparagus, rice, primrose, alfalfa/clover, spruce.

___

TARGET

— 90 DNA tests run on 18 bottles

— DNA matched label identification 41% of the time.

— Among contaminants identified: allium, French bean, asparagus, pea, wild carrot, saw palmetto.

___

WALGREENS

— 90 DNA test run on 18 bottles

— DNA matched label representation 18% of the time.

— Among contaminants identified: rice, wheat, palm, daisy and dracaena (houseplant).

___

WALMART

— 90 DNA test run on 18 bottles

— DNA matched label representation 4% of the time.

— Among contaminants identified: pine, wheat/grass, rice mustard, citrus.

___

Source: New York state Attorney General’s Office

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Second “I’m not comfortable” TV reports from Orlando in < 7 days

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

Pharmacies deny consumers pain prescriptions
Consumers say they feel like criminals being forced to ‘pharmacy shop’

http://www.clickorlando.com/news/pharmacies-deny-consumers-pain-prescriptions/31051336

DEA Agent Jeff Walsh says legitimate prescriptions should be filled by pharmacist. “DEA does not or ever will tell a pharmacist you can or cannot fill a prescription. The message I’d like to get out is the pharmacy owners and the pharmacist…just use the information that you have and make it an appropriate decision. If it’s a legitimate script these people should have access to it,” he said.

Local 6 asked the president of Florida’s Pharmacist Association Michael Jackson, why people are having such a tough time getting their prescriptions filled? Jackson said he believes that problem stems from the “pill mills” and pain clinics.

“The pendulum has swung in my opinion way too far to the right. We have got to find a way to bring it back to the center so we can balance the needs of the patient,” he said. Instead, those needs are instead being questioned by pharmacists; who are also under scrutiny by the DEA.

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A well deserved award and accolade !

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

http://helenair.com/search/?k=%22best+of+helena%22&t=&l=20&d=&d1=&d2=&f=html&s=start_time&sd=desc&sHeading=Best+Of+Helena&app%5B0%5D=editorial&o=0

Helena’s Best : Best Doctor

This category resulted in a three-way tie: Dr. Heetderks (Helena Orthopedic Clinic). Dr. Wampler (St. Peter’s Medical Group), and Dr. Mark Ibsen (Urgent Care Plus).
Dr. Mark Ibsen, 39 Neill Ave., 513-1052. Dr. Ibsen’s patients are emphatic in their support of him. Dr. Ibsen graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine in 1980 and worked in the emergency room at St. Peter’s Hospital. He currently owns and operates Urgent Care Plus

Dr. David Heetderks is a board certified orthopedic surgeon. He was born in Montana and is the third generation of his family that has been a physician. He earned his medical degree at the University of Nevada in Reno. Dr. Heetderks went to work with Helena Orthopedic Clinic in 1990. To reach Dr. Heetderks call 457-4100.

Dr. Todd Wampler’s specialty is Family Practice. His hometown is Helena. He graduated from Capital High and earned his undergraduate degree at Carroll College. He earned his medical degree at the University of Michigan. Before coming home to Helena, Wampler served as a family physician (chief of medical staff) in the Air Force at Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado.

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Getting “in bed” with a large corporation and poor outcomes ?

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Pharmaciststeve

Target pharmacists seek protection as Wal-Mart secures patient records

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/target-pharmacies-seek-protection-as-wal-mart-secures-patient-records/article22753777/?cmpid=rss1

Wal-Mart Canada Corp. has moved quickly to acquire some pharmacy patient records of insolvent Target Canada, even as its franchised pharmacists gear up for a fight. Already last week, Target transferred the patient records at its three corporately owned pharmacies to Wal-Mart, according to a court filing.

But representatives for Target Canada’s other pharmacists, who are franchised and are in the vast majority of the retailer’s 133 stores, will ask the court soon to set up a fund for them similar to the one it created for its 17,600 employees, who are all being let go. Owed hundreds of thousands of dollars, the franchised pharmacists say Target should let them stay in their stores beyond the end of February, when they are being told to leave.

While creditors are lining up to nab Target’s remaining assets, the franchised pharmacists have the added burden of debts from having invested in their drugstore rollouts. They hired their own staff and bought inventory – and now they need to sell their patient records to other pharmacies. On Friday, Target Canada mistakenly posted on its pharmacists’ websites a notice that their patient files were being transferred to Wal-Mart, said Dan Dimovski, co-owner of the Target Windsor pharmacy and president of the pharmacists’ association. The posting was removed several hours later but caused much uncertainty and stress among Target’s pharmacists, he said.