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It’s probably completely different in the US but in Europe doctors can get in trouble for not following so-called guidelines.
by read_if_gay_ 6y ago
It’s probably completely different in the US but in Europe doctors can get in trouble for not following so-called guidelines.
- refurb 6y agoThe DEA is supposed to do it in the US as well. Each doctor has a DEA number and the DEA has access to what they prescribe. I think one issue is if you're a doctor at a pain clinic or at a hospice, you'd prescribe very large amounts of opioids. If you're a family doctor, you shouldn't be. I don't know why the DEA wasn't cracking down more quickly. There were examples of "pill mills" where doctors were writing scripts for hundreds of thousands of pills per month, which clearly shouldn't happen.
- read_if_gay_ 6y agoYeah, that's definitely true. The DEA should've picked up on that faster. I didn't make it clear enough, but I was also trying to get at the idea that even the guidelines might be corrupt. So maybe the issue isn't even in the hands of the doctors in the first place. I know a doctor here in Europe and he's pretty vocal about his disdain for those guidelines in his particular field (oncology). He mentions things like new and expensive medication with unclear side effects being recommended over cheap, old tried-and-tested stuff, clearly with the motivation of making more profit. And by not following the guidelines you take a huge personal risk.