5 ms·

I don't see any numbers on the scale of the operation... How many prescriptions, net reimbursement per prescription, how many dollars? Also, if a doctor is wri

by zaroth 9y ago

I don't see any numbers on the scale of the operation... How many prescriptions, net reimbursement per prescription, how many dollars? Also, if a doctor is writing an inappropriate script based on a kickback are their licenses getting suspended?

mikeash 9y ago
A lot of doctors didn't know that they were writing inappropriate prescriptions, because they were evaluating the tradeoffs based on information from the drug company that said these drugs were much less addictive than they really were.
- alexandercrohde 9y ago
  what? that's no excuse. A doctor is entirely responsible for the quality of his research.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    How is a doctor supposed to independently evaluate the addictiveness of a drug? It's not like they can hold their own clinical trials.
- astura 9y ago
  It was in one of the linked articles that doctors are required to undergo special training from the FDA before they are allowed to prescribe fentanyl. So they absolutely should know.
  - mikeash 9y ago
    Was the information in that training based on the bad data from the drug company?
    - astura 9y ago
      The training is provided by the FDA and the medication is only FDA approved for breakthrough cancer pain. So almost certainly not.
zaroth 9y ago
I did see reporting that cost is $20,000 per month for this drug, which makes no sense as opioids are neither expensive to produce nor hard to develop?