In a matter of days, the Florida Board of Pharmacy will meet to address the issue of pain medication being denied to patients in need, and already one lawmaker is speaking out. U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown said she will call for a congressional hearing to investigate the problem.
Hospice patients are among the latest being denied prescription painkillers. It's medication they need to spend their final days comfortably without pain.
Brown said she's heard from at least 100 constituents, including cancer and hospice patients, who have been denied access to legitimate pain medications. She said she has met with pharmacists and other lawmakers, who have also expressed their frustrations.
Like the attorney general and the governor, Brown blames the Drug Enforcement Administration for the crisis. In April, she said, "The root of the problem seems to lie with overzealous or excessive crackdowns," adding, "DEA officials have excessively censured doctors and pharmacists and limited the flow of prescription drugs to such a degree that patients are not able to access prescriptions."
2 comments:
I have experienced this personally.
I'm afraid to even ask my doctor for a refill, even though it usually takes me a year to go through a month's supply.
The people who need the drugs aren't the ones who should be penalized. Makes me wonder just who is getting paid to do this, because, after all, money is always at the root of such things...
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