Dabbling in narcotics prescribing, treating family member dangerous for physicians
A family doctor’s four-month suspension shows the danger of dabbling in narcotics prescribing and treating family members, Lonny Rosen tells AdvocateDaily.com.
The discipline committee of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) handed out the punishment to the doctor, who was not a frequent prescriber of narcotics, after finding she committed misconduct in prescribing Fentanyl to four patients, two of whom were close members of her family.
"Doctors have to be familiar with all aspects of prescribing narcotics, especially if it's not a significant part of their practice. It is fine to refer patients elsewhere for chronic pain management, but it is not OK to dabble with controlled substances,” says Rosen.
According to the CPSO decision, in addition to the suspension, the family doctor must undergo education in ethics, operate for nine months under clinical supervision with respect to her prescribing of narcotics and controlled substances, complete a reassessment of her practice, and undergo compliance monitoring, which includes unannounced inspections of her practice location and patient charts.
