Doctor Who Had Five Patients Overdose On Opioids In Span Of 10 Months Pleads Guilty To Distributing Charge
The case comes as prosecutors across the country use the criminal court system to crack down on the people who play a role in the opioid epidemic. In other news on the crisis: DEA's pursuit of information on Colorado's pharmacies, a look at addiction while in jail, a study on the dangers of opioid-substitute kratom.
The Associated Press:
Tenn. Doctor Plans To Plead Guilty To Opioid Distribution
A Tennessee doctor who had five patients fatally overdose in a 10-month span intends to plead guilty to distributing a controlled substance. The Tennessean reports 64-year-old Dr. Darrel Rinehart's attorney filed a motion to have a hearing in December where Rinehart "intends to plead guilty." (11/11)
Nashville Tennessean:
Tennessee Doctor To Plead Guilty After 5 Patients Died Of Opioid Overdoses
The federal indictment against Rinehart states that he “routinely” prescribed opioids and other drugs “without legitimate medical purpose” and that four patients died while in his care. In January, Rinehart was also the subject of a joint investigation by The Tennessean and The Indianapolis Star. State health records showed at least five of Rinehart’s patients suffered fatal overdoses that were partially or wholly caused by drugs he prescribed between March 2015 and January 2016. At least six more Rinehart patients had nonfatal overdoses between 2014 and 2016, and one of those patients overdosed three times, state health records showed.(Kelman, 11/11)
Colorado Sun:
Why The DEA Is Suing Colorado’s Pharmacy Board As Part Of An Opioid Investigation
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration has sued the board that regulates Colorado’s pharmacies, demanding it share information from a database that tracks opioid prescriptions and setting up a clash over patient privacy amid the nation’s overdose epidemic. The requested information is part of an investigation into whether two unnamed pharmacies broke the law in dispensing opioids and other drugs, according to a DEA agent’s declaration filed in the lawsuit. (Ingold, 11/11)
WBUR:
Mass. Has The First Jail In The Country That's Also A Licensed Methadone Treatment Provider
Methadone and Suboxone (the brand name for buprenorphine) ease opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Forty-four of the estimated 200 people incarcerated at the Frankin County facility receive addiction medications on this day. (Becker, 11/12)
NPR:
'Getting Wrecked' Profiles Problems With Opioid Addiction Treatment In U.S. Jails
Dr. Kimberly Sue is the medical director of the Harm Reduction Coalition, a national advocacy group that works to change U.S. policies and attitudes about the treatment of drug users. She's also a Harvard-trained anthropologist and a physician at the Rikers Island jail system in New York. Sue thinks it's a huge mistake to put people with drug use disorder behind bars. (Vaughn, 11/12)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Kratom Products May Cause Liver Injury, New Analysis Led By Philadelphia Physician Finds
Products containing the herbal supplement kratom may damage the liver in rare cases, a new review suggests. All seven patients with liver damage in the review fully recovered, but the research adds to the debate over the risks and benefits of the unregulated, little-studied derivative of a Southeast Asian tree. ...The new analysis was conducted by the federally funded Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network and presented at a meeting Monday by lead researcher Victor Navarro, a gastroenterologist with the Einstein Healthcare Network in Philadelphia. (McCullough, 11/11)
