I am an anesthesiologist/pain doc. Two years ago I let my DEA number ‘expire’ in my pain practice, shredded the prescription pads, and transferred all prescription writing to the patient’s referring medical doctor. Glad to have that monkey off my back, saving me 5-10 hours a week, plus a bunch of time for my staff. It was only a matter of time before some patient of mine got into legal trouble, overdosed, gamed multiple offices for prescriptions, sold pills, or turned out to be a drug seeking DEA agent.
3 Comments
I am an anesthesiologist/pain doc. Two years ago I let my DEA number ‘expire’ in my pain practice, shredded the prescription pads, and transferred all prescription writing to the patient’s referring medical doctor.
Glad to have that monkey off my back, saving me 5-10 hours a week, plus a bunch of time for my staff. It was only a matter of time before some patient of mine got into legal trouble, overdosed, gamed multiple offices for prescriptions, sold pills, or turned out to be a drug seeking DEA agent.
Do the HIPAA regulations even allow this with out an explicit exemption by act of congress?
My dog takes painkillers. But I only let him drive when I am too drunk.