In a recent round up by the DEA and Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, a local St. Petersburg doctor was arrested for selling prescriptions for Xanax and Hydrocodone. Apparently this guy wrote scripts for over $25,000 of oxycodone last month alone. Yikes? Was it covered by insurance?
Finally, the police, in Hillsborough County, at least, are arresting the right people. It will be interesting to see if the Pinellas or Pasco County Sheriff's Offices actually look at the doctors or continue to arrest the little guys.
Granted, the little guys are much easier to catch. Too many people walk through my door with charges of prescription drug fraud, doctor shopping, or possesion of controlled substances which are not cocaine. Each one of these people has an addiction to prescription drugs. If I ask how the problem started, nine times out of ten they tell me that, at some point, they had a legitimate prescription for whatever drug they are addicted to. Until now, in Tampa at least, it never seemed like the doctors got into trouble, or were even questioned. Rather, the police waste time on the little guy- not the people who actually cause the problem.
Judging from the number of "Pain Management "clinics along US 19 in Pinellas and Pasco counties, it's clearly big business. Here's how most "Pain Management" clinics work: A doctor (or nurse) takes some x-rays, agrees you have an injury, and then writes a script for hydrocodone and muscle relaxers, never attempting to actually fix your problem.
Sure they tell you the drugs are addictive, but do they monitor to see if you are having a problem? If the doctor solved your injury who would pay them?
Hats off to those in Hillsborough County who finally went after the right people. Next stop: insurance companies.
