Pain clinics and doctors charged with operating "pill mills"
In Georgia and across the nation, federal and state governments have begun targeting pain management doctors for their practices in prescribing pain medication. The federal government alone has arrested over 450 pain doctors since 2004 for allegedly operating “pill mills.” Many doctors and pain patients argue that the government’s intrusion infringes on a doctor’s right to dispense legitimate and necessary medication.
The Rome News-Tribune has the story.
Prosecutors believe that many pain doctors care more about profit than the lives and well-being of their patients. In one case out of Kansas, prosecutors alleged that a single pain management doctor caused the deaths of 68 patients and that many of the deaths were caused by overdoses. The doctor in question was charged with violating controlled substances laws, money laundering and health care fraud.
Many chronic pain sufferers, however, see pain management doctors in a much different light. For them, life is a constant struggle with debilitating pain that can only be alleviated with medications such as OxyContin, hyrdocodone and fentanyl. The Pain Relief Network, an advocacy organization for those suffering with chronic pain, believes that the government often treats individuals who rely on these medications as though they are “subhuman” and drug abusers.
The effect of such prosecutions on the practice of medicine has raised some concerns. The Center for Practical Bioethics in Missouri found that the prosecution of pain doctors has had a “chilling effect” on the legitimate dispensing of pain medication. In fact, it’s estimated that there are less than 5,000 doctors in the U.S. who currently prescribe a high volume of opioids.
Georgia has also seen an increase in physicians who are prosecuted for prescribing painkillers. In one recent highly publicized case, our firm was retained to represent a respected small town doctor in Hart County, Georgia. While the matter is still ongoing, we are confident that the evidence will clearly show our client’s innocence at trial, if the charges are not dismissed before then.
We are also involved in a federal criminal investigation in another state where prosecutors are accusing a well-respected doctor of operating a "pill mill" despite significant evidence that he is acting within the law. We are hoping to convince the government that they should not bring formal charges against the doctor and his employees. But, if they do, we will be prepared to win the case at trial.
We expect to see many more of these cases, both on the federal and state level, as prosecutors start to target pain clinics and doctors in what used to be matters handled exclusively by local medical boards.
