Ethics Governance
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| Article - Abstract. To view full article click on the article title. | |
http://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=3554 Pain Control in Your Medical Practice: the Texas Reality Legal and Professional Guidelines Regarding Prescription of Controlled Medications Reprinted with permission from the January 2004 Tarrant County Physician. SIDEBAR Schedule II and Schedule III Drug List as of Jan. 1, 2003 By Deborah Lehmann, MD There is extensive evidence that many physicians are reluctant to prescribe controlled substances. This reluctance stems from a general social aversion to the use of these compounds, a fear of creating addiction, and a fear of investigation by regulatory agencies. As a result, many patients with chronic non-malignant pain are undertreated. Additionally, national data indicates that nearly 50 percent of nursing home patients live with chronic, severe pain and 80 percent of dying patients are not given adequate pain relief. The existence of oversight by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Texas Department of Public Safety (TDPS), and the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners (TSBME), appears to have had an impact on the clinical decisions of physicians providing pain management. A physicians perception of limits that will trigger an investigation of their prescribing patterns in reality becomes a limit of practice. However, the purpose of oversight by the DEA, TDPS and TSBME has never been to discourage the medically appropriate use of these valuable medications. The sole purpose of these programs and regulations is to identify and eliminate fraudulent diversion of these drugs for illegal uses and to identify and prevent the use of medications in a manner harmful to the public. The DEA is a federal agency whose Office of Diversion Control is dedicated to the elimination of diversion, non-medical sale, and non-therapeutic use of these drugs. They have no interest in our professional use of these drugs to treat patients. Common DEA investigations involved detection of organized criminal rings that target vulnerable physicians and utilize fraudulent prescriptions. Full Article: http://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=3554 |
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2006 Ethics-Governance.com |
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