The “Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act” introduced by Representatives Blackburn and Marino defines the term “imminent danger.” The Controlled Substances Act requires DEA to find that a registrant poses an imminent danger to public health or safety before the Agency can issue an immediate suspension order, but the current law
Congressional Hearing on CSA Amendment
Today at 3 p.m., I will be joining DEA’s Mr. Joseph Rannazzisi, HDMA CEO John Gray and others to testify before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health regarding a proposed amendment to the Controlled Substances Act. H.R.
Non-Suspicious is Suspicious: DEA Moved the Goal Post Again!
Just when you thought it was safe to have a robust order monitoring program to detect and report suspicious orders, DEA has moved the goal post. In previous posts (here and here), we’ve talked about DEA’s “extra-regulatory” guidance on both suspicious orders and “due diligence”. In late February-early March, the DEA held a
Sometimes Numbers Lie: Decline in Opioid Prescriptions is Hollow
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, IMS has reported that the number of prescriptions for opioids declined 5% in 2013 compared to 2012. Although this could signal a positive step in combating opioid abuse, data suggest otherwise. The decline in the number of prescriptions for opioids
DEA Takes the First Step Towards Rescheduling Hydrocodone Combination Products
On Thursday, February 27, 2014, the DEA issued a long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) seeking to reschedule hydrocodone combination products as Schedule II controlled substances. In a previous post we questioned whether such a step would actually have an impact on the abuse and diversion of these drugs. DEA relied on the scientific analysis
DEA Must Obtain a Warrant to Access PDMP Data in Oregon
Federal Court Rules Patients Have Reasonable Expectation to Privacy of Prescription Drug Information
A Federal District Court in Oregon has ruled that patients have a Fourth Amendment privacy right in their prescription drug information–even if such information is forwarded to and maintained by a state-run database. Consequently, government agencies will be required to obtain a
DEA Decisions: In the Matter of Hoi Y. Kam, M.D.
In the Matter of Hoi Y. Kam, M.D. (October 22, 2013)
In July 2011, the New York Department of Health revoked Dr. Hoi Kam’s medical license on the ground that he previously committed Medicaid fraud and had been excluded from the Medicaid program in 2006. Three months later, however, the State’s Administrative Review Board (ARB)
DEA Decisions: In the Matter of Joe W. Morgan, D.O.
In the Matter of Joe W. Morgan, D.O. (October 8, 2013)
On April 9, 2012, the DEA issued an Order to Show Cause proposing the revocation of Joe W. Morgan, D.O.’s DEA registration based on his alleged prescribing of controlled substances in “dangerous and excessive,” and potentially lethal, quantities. Dr. Morgan was a DEA-registered physician
DEA Decisions: In the Matter of Kenneth Harold Bull, M.D.
In the Matter of Kenneth Harold Bull, M.D. (October 22, 2013)
Dr. Kenneth Bull is a New Mexico psychiatrist known for treating difficult or complex psychiatric conditions. During his long career, Dr. Bull worked as the chief of psychiatry or medical director of psychiatric services at nearly every hospital in the Albuquerque area, and he
DEA Decisions: In the Matter of Anthony E. Wicks, M.D.
In the Matter of Anthony E. Wicks, M.D. (October 22, 2013)
DEA refused to issue a new DEA registration to a doctor who moved from California to central Florida in December 2010 and, in the seven months after his move, wrote more than 2,000 controlled substance prescriptions from his new location without notifying DEA of