With the opioid epidemic raging across the United States – opioid overdoses are currently the leading cause of accidental death in the country – Florida has taken drastic steps to curb accessibility of the drugs to patients and has placed additional requirements on doctors that seek to prescribe opioids for pain management.
The law, which went into effect in July, has two primary aims:
- To limit the number of days for which opioids can be prescribed to three or seven days, depending upon whether the doctor certifies that the medication is medically necessary due to surgery, acute illness, or a traumatic injury; and,
- To require physicians prescribing opioids to document the prescription and take on responsibility for ensuring that a patient has been properly counseled and that any prescription written is entered into the state’s database.
“This law will most certainly have a positive impact in terms of reducing the number of long-term opioid prescriptions issued throughout the state,” said Sean Domnick, a Florida Medical Malpractice Attorney with the law firm of Domnick, Cunningham & Whalen. “Where there may be unintended consequences is the chilling effect these restrictions may have on patients who actually have valid prescriptions for pain who will now have to vault over additional hurdles to access the relief they desperately need.”
It is anticipated that these additional prescription requirements may lead physicians to refer patients to pain management clinics – entities designed to monitor and prescribe for individuals dealing with chronic pain issues. Though these entities may be better attuned to the opioid of the individual, thereby avoiding overdose risks, it takes the individual out of the regular contact that they would have by needing to visit their doctor for opioid renewals.
In situations where the individual is recovering from surgery or a traumatic event, the physician that handled the initial treatment and prescription will likely be aware of the progression of an individual’s pain and what that could mean in terms of underlying or undiagnosed issues stemming from the initial operation or event. With regular visits for prescription renewals, physicians may be able to identify issues or complications that would otherwise go undiagnosed.
However, with this law raising the possibility that requests prescription renewals past seven days may be referred to pain management clinics, it also raises the prospect that individuals may be exposed to complications or issues that would otherwise be caught by a physician.
What does this mean for patients? If you or a loved one suffers complications from an operation that arose following a pain clinic referral, you may have reason to consider whether the physician committed malpractice by not continuing to properly monitor your situation. Consultation with an experienced medical malpractice attorney will ensure that your rights in the situation are protected.
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