Pain Management | The Health Law Firm Blog

Sanford CVS Pharmacies in Hot Water for Ignoring Red Flags

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In September 2012, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) revoked the controlled substance licenses from two CVS pharmacies in Sanford, Florida. Details into the investigation were made public on October 12, 2012, in a final order released by the DEA.

The order explains how the stores operated, whom they prescribed painkillers such as oxycodone to, and identified Central Florida’s top-prescribing doctors.

To read the final order from the DEA, click here.

I previously wrote about the two Sanford CVS stores losing their controlled substance licenses, click here to read that blog.|

Employee Admitted to Reserving Painkillers for “Real Pain Patients.”

The Final Order reveals testimonies from pharmacy personnel. In a press release from the DEA […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:07-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|Tags: administrative hearings, controlled substance licenses, DEA raid, defense attorney, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation, emergency suspension order (ESO), Florida defense attorney, Florida defense lawyer, pharmacist, pharmacy, pharmacy investigation, prescription drug trafficking, registration, revoked license|Comments Off

New Regulations for Pain Management Clinics in Seminole County Coming

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Seminole County, Florida, is the latest county to adopt tightened regulations for pain management clinics. On November 13, 2012, County Commissioners unanimously voted to adopt the ordinance enacting Chapter 186 of the Seminole County Code to establish regulations regarding pain management clinics.

Click here to read the entire Seminole County Ordinance.

County Commissioners hope these new regulations will aid law enforcement in fighting illegal pill mill operations in Florida.

Regulations In Place to Cut Down on Overprescribing.

The ordinance requires clinics to get a license, produce monthly reports on how many prescriptions are issued for controlled substances and report patient information, such as a patient’s address. This only applies to practices where doctors issue prescriptions for painkillers […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:08-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Pain Management, Trafficking Prescription Painkillers|Tags: controlled substances, defense attorney, defense lawyer, Department of Health (DOH), doctor, florida pill mills, Florida prescription drug abuse, Florida prescription drug crackdown, nurse, Osceola County pill mills, overprescribing, pain clinics, pain management, pharmacies, pharmacists, pharmacy, physician, pill mill, prescription drug monitoring program, prescription drug trafficking, Seminole County pain clinics, Seminole County pill mills|Comments Off

California, Pennsylvania and Kentucky Move to Tighten Laws Related to Controlled Substance

By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm

In reports from both coasts, three states have recently made moves to tighten monitoring and prescribing of controlled substances. Legislators in California, Pennsylvania and Kentucky are contemplating new actions. Health professionals should take note, these prescription drug monitoring programs can, and will be, used as a prosecution tool.

Details of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program Possibly Coming to Your State.

According to the Los Angeles Times, California is looking to utilize its prescription drug monitoring program CURES to find physicians who are a little too loose with the prescription pad. Lawmakers are contemplating mining the data compiled by CURES to find physicians who are overprescribing and take action against them. Click here to read the entire Los Angeles Times article.

The Pennsylvania house recently forwarded a bill from committee to the floor for […]

“Operation Main Pain” Targets More Than 60 in Fraudulent Prescription Drug Ring

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office announced a fraudulent prescription drug ring bust that spanned throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida, on September 19, 2013. So far, 61 people, including the alleged ringleader have been arrested. The operation has been dubbed “Operation Main Pain” by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

Click here to view the press release from the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigation Unveiled Complex Fraudulent Drug Ring.

The investigation began in July 2011, when a fraudulent oxycodone prescription was noticed at a CVS pharmacy in Sarasota County. When more of the same fake prescriptions were presented at the CVS pharmacy, the prescriptions were identified as suspicious and declined, according to the Bradenton Herald.

Investigators uncovered that the fraudulent prescription drug ring involved […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:14-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Trafficking Prescription Painkillers|Tags: controlled substances, counterfeit prescriptions, defense attorney, defense lawyer, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Florida prescription drug abuse, Florida prescription drug crackdown, fraudulent prescription, Operation Main Pain, pain clinics, pain management, pain management clinic, pharmacies, pharmacist, pharmacist attorney, pharmacist lawyer, pharmacy, pharmacy attorney, pharmacy lawyer, prescription drug trafficking, the health law firm|Comments Off

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Serves Up Immediate Suspension Order for Walgreens Distribution Center

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On September 14, 2012, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) blocked the Walgreens distribution center in Jupiter, Florida, from shipping oxycodone and other controlled drugs to its pharmacies in Florida and the East Coast with an immediate suspension order, according to the DEA. In the press release, the DEA called the Walgreens distribution facility an “imminent danger” to the public.

To see the entire press release from the DEA, click here.

Back in April 2012, the DEA served an administrative inspection warrant at the same facility, as well as its six top retail Walgreens pharmacies in Florida. To see my blog post on that story, click here.

DEA Named […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:39-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Legal Defense for Pharmacists, Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|Tags: administrative hearings, controlled substance licenses, DEA defense attorney, DEA defense lawyer, DEA raid, defense attorney, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) administrative law attorney, emergency suspension order, Immediate Suspension Order, investigation, pharmacist, pharmacy, pharmacy investigation, prescription drug trafficking, registration, revoked license|Comments Off

Crackdown in the Supply of Prescription Medications Drive Floridians to Heroin

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

For the past three years, Florida lawmakers and officials have waged war against prescription drug abuse. At the peak of the pill abuse epidemic, seven people a day reportedly died of a prescription drug overdose in Florida. As the Sunshine State became known as painkiller capital of America, officials worked quickly to enact legislation against prescription drugs, develop and monitor the statewide prescription drug monitoring database, and crackdown on prescription drug abusers and pill mills. Flash forward to summer 2013, prescription pills are harder to come by and more expensive, therefore making them less appealing to addicts. However, that does not mean the war is over. Now addicts are finding their replacement fix in heroin, according to the Miami Herald.

Click here to read […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:39-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Trafficking Prescription Painkillers|Tags: controlled substances, defense attorney, defense lawyer, Department of Health (DOH), doctor, drug addiction, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Florida drug addiction, Florida health care lawyer, Florida health law attorney, Florida Office of the Attorney General (AG), florida pill mills, Florida prescription drug abuse, Florida prescription drug crackdown, heroin, legal defense for doctors, legal defense for physicians, legal representation for doctors, legal representation for physicians, opioid misuse, opioid use, oxycodone, pain management, pain pills, pharmacists, physician, physicians, pill mill bust, pill mill laws, pill mills, prescription drug crackdown, prescription drug trafficking, prescription drugs, prescription pain pill, prescription pills, prescriptions, the health law firm|1 Comment

Two Florida Doctors Convicted of Money Laundering Stemming from Pill Mill Operation in Broward and Palm Beach Counties

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Two South Florida doctors faced life in prison and fines up to $2 million each because nine (9) of their patients allegedly died of drug overdoses, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). However, on July 30, 2013, a jury acquitted Cynthia Cadet, M.D., and Joseph Castronuovo, M.D., of causing the deaths of their patients. The doctors were convicted of money laundering for their role in a conspiracy involving the chain of pain clinics they worked at, according to the DEA. The doctors still face up to ten (10) years in jail for the money laundering charges, as well as forfeiture of the money made while working at the clinics. Sentencing for the doctors is set for November 4, 2013, according to the DEA.

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Central Florida Doctor’s Home and Offices Raided Over Alleged Improper Prescribing Practices

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

In a joint operation, law enforcement officials raided the home and two offices of a Central Florida physician on November 8, 2013, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office. The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office alleges that the doctor is being investigated for improper prescribing practices. According to the press release, this is not the first time the physician has been under investigation.

The raid was a collective effort between the Osceola County Investigative Bureau (OCIB), Florida Department of Health (DOH), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), and the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI).

Physician Not Arrested After Raid.

On November 8, 2013, law enforcement agents searched the physician’s home and his offices in Kissimmee, Florida and Orlando, Florida. The Florida DOH also issued […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:40-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Pain Management, Pharmacy Law, Pharmacy Law Blog|Tags: blacklist, blacklisted, controlled substance licenses, controlled substances, CVS, CVS pharmacy, dea, DEA investigation, DEA raid, defense attorney, defense lawyer, department of health, doctor, doh, drug enforcement administration, emergency suspension order, ESO, fdle, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, health law firm, healthcare providers, hearings, improper prescribing practices, investigation, Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI), OCIB, Osceola County Investigative Bureau, over-prescribing, painkiller, physician, physician attorney, physician lawyer, physicians, prescribing practices, prescription drug trafficking, prescription painkiller, raid, the health law firm|Comments Off

Florida Board of Pharmacy Approves Change to Destruction of Controlled Substances Rule

By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm

At its meeting held in Orlando, Florida, on February 12, 2014, the Florida Board of Pharmacy approved final changes to Rule 64B16-28.303, Florida Administrative Code. This rule governs the destruction of controlled substances by Class II Institutional Pharmacies.

The focus of the new rule changes is to ensure that either the prescription department manager (PDM) or the consultant pharmacist of record signs off on all destruction of controlled substances. Further, the rule requires that a copy of the destruction documents be mailed to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) within one business day of destruction.

According to the Board’s statement, the purpose of the rule change is to make it “easier to properly dispose of [controlled] substances while ensuring that one of the persons signing for the destruction always is either the prescription department […]

DEA Offers New Prescription Drug Return Policy

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Looking to improve the prescription drug abuse epidemic in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced September 8, 2014, that it would permit patients to return their unused prescription medications to pharmacies. This new rule, covering all types of prescription drugs, will give patients the option of mailing unused prescriptions to an authorized collector using packaging provided by the pharmacy.

Hopefully this will help to eliminate many of the problematic situations that pharmacists and physicians found themselves in when they accumulated returned or unused medications from patients for destruction.

This move intends to address the rising number of injuries and deaths associated with controlled substance drugs, particularly opioids. Reducing the stockpile of unneeded prescription drugs from American homes will limit teenagers’ accessibility to their […]

By The Health Law Firm|2024-03-14T10:01:40-04:00May 15, 2018|Categories: Pain Management, Pharmacist, Pharmacy, Pharmacy Law|Tags: controlled substance, controlled substance abuse, Controlled Substance Act, defense attorney, defense lawyer, drug abuse, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FDA, Food and Drug Administration, health law, hospital pharmacy, medication, medication returns, opiods, pharmaceutical drugs, pharmacist attorney, pharmacist lawyer, pharmacy, prescription, prescription drug abuse, prescription drug returns, prescription drugs, prescription returns, retail pharmacy, unused medication, unused pills|Comments Off