Wichita Witch Hunt
The Justice Department wages war on pain relief.
No good deed goes unpunished when a private citizen is up against the federal drug warriors--those members of the Department of Justice who have been seeking, with increasing success in recent decades, to effectively control the practice of pain relief medicine. read the rest
H/T Instapundit
There is nothing about this story I find at all hard to believe. In 1982, the year my mother died from cancer that had metastasized to her bones, her doctor (bless his heart), prescribed Percodan to control the pain.
During this time her doctor was called before the pharmaceutical board three times to explain the large quantity of pain medication he prescribed.
According to him it would go something like this:
Pharmaceutical Board (PB): "So Doctor, can you explain the large amount of Percodan you are prescribing for patient A?"
Doctor (D): "Why yes. You see patient A has cancer that has spread to her bones and it's very, very painful."
PB: "I presume Doctor, you are aware Patient A could become addicted?"
D: "Since I don't expect Patient A to live too terribly much longer, that was not a factor when making my decision."
PB: "Are there alternatives you could be prescribing?"
D: "Hmmmmmmmm, yes. I could give her acetaminophen with codeine, which wouldn't work. Or I could give her morphine which would render her completely zonked and unable to have any awareness of her final months. I was sorta saving that for later when it was the last alternative."
PB: Well Doctor, we'll let it pass for now, but we've got our eye on you.
My Mom was gracious enough to die before the pharmaceutical board yanked the doctor's ability to prescribe pain medication for his patients or the DEA threw his sorry a** in jail (for being a wonderful doctor!)
How the government thinks: (I know - that's an oxymoron)
My Mom lived with us until her death. My husband and I were her primary caregivers. In her final few weeks I was desperately in need of a bit of help. I made it quite clear when I asked Medicare for a visiting nurse, a practical nurse was all that was necessary. Just someone to bathe her, give her breakfast, and stay with her while I did a few hours work at my hair salon.
Did I get help? Sure. A registered nurse who was paid approximately $10.00 more per hour. I repeatedly told them I didn't need a registered nurse. But guess what? The bureaucrats had decided they wouldn't pay $10.00 less per hour for a practical nurse. Only a registered nurse was covered.
Some of the time the nursing service didn't have a registered nurse to send. What did I get? A practical nurse who was "working as a registered nurse" and billed to Medicare at registered nurse rates. The practical nurse was unable to legally give injections, so it was my responsibility to give my Mom her morphine before I left for a few hours. And we wonder why Medicare is nearing bankruptcy?
Are these the folks you want making your health care decisions?
Related and Important:
Gateway Pundit: Media Silent As Obama Slashes $1.4 Billion From Medicare to Heart & Cancer Docs
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