CBS12 News Team

Doctors say new law makes writing pain Rx's very difficult

FT. PIERCE -- Florida is worst in the nation for prescription pill abuse. Governor Rick Scott and state legislators took swift action, cracking down on pill mills in the last year. But new provisions of the law affect everyday doctors and elderly patients who truly need the drugs as well.

For Family Medicine Dr. Dwight Dawkins, every patient is greeted with a smile in his Ft. Pierce office. But when it comes to House Bill 70-95 and forced drug tests for an 80-year-old patient just to get her meds, he's quite serious.

Dawkins had to order a urinalysis to prove one patient is not an addict. He says, "Unfortunately what's happening is with the crackdown, it ends up involving taking away medication from people who actually need it."

Back in June a Vero Beach alleged pill mill ring was busted by the DEA. This is what H-B 70-95 is supposed to do crush the pill mills. But provisions of this law require legitimate doctors, like Dr. Dawkins, and their patients to take added steps just to prescribe painkillers.

More tests, more visits, and more costs to the patient insurance companies won’t cover.

Dawkins says, "They are asking patients to come in every month in some cases, if I’m not capitalizing on my patient’s pain, why would I want my patient to come in every month? I’d rather them in every 3 months."

The law encourages regular MRI’s ordered to document pain not covered by insurance.
Doctors are scrutinized if they write too many narcotic prescriptions regardless of their age or ailment.
Dawkins says, "I write medication for people in the nursing home, I write prescriptions for people in hospice."

He adds, "It’s tough. I've taken the stance where I’ll keep taking care of my patients, but I’m not taking any new patient’s that requires me to be prescribing chronic pain medication."

Because of the new law, most doctors won’t even write prescriptions for painkillers at all.

"The attorney general's office disagrees with the physicians, saying the law is actually working and shutting down a record number of pill mills.” The state Department of Health spokesperson tells CBS 12 HB 7095 does not prevent any health care practitioner, with prescriptive authority, from writing prescriptions for controlled substances.

Doctors we spoke to agree saying they can still write the prescriptions, but face a large amount of scrutiny, and risk as well as added costs for their patients.

Tuesday, September 18 2012, 12:48 AM EDT

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