Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Florida Doctors Push Back on CVS

Last November, CVS sent letters to certain Florida doctors informing them that “CVS will not be able to fill prescriptions that you write for Schedule II narcotic controlled substances.” 
Today, we learned that some of those doctors are pushing back.  CVS is being sued by several doctors for a host of reasons ranging from “emotional distress” to “damage of [medical] practice.”  CVS has filed a motion to dismiss the suit.  Most of us saw this coming.
The headline on workcompcentral, though, is what caught my attention: “Doctors Say ‘Pill Mill’ Ban Impacting Patients.”  And embedded in the article is this nonspecific, anecdotal nugget from the Florida Society of Pain Management Providers: “Some patients are having trouble filling prescriptions.”  
I don’t have a window into the process CVS utilized to identify these doctors (none of us do – CVS has been tightlipped on that front).  But I imagine the folks at CVS are smart enough to know that these actions were going to start quite the brouhaha.  And I’m betting they’re prepared for the backlash.    
To the patients not able to fill their scripts at CVS, I offer this advice: While it seems it would be (incredibly) easy to find another pharmacy, don’t do that.  Instead, find another doctor.   
Michael
On Twitter @PRIUM1

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