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Archives for : FL PDMP

Thursday-June 18th-6PM-Fort Lauderdale-FL

Once again, Broward County FL, the epicenter of a “new” synthetic drug.

Why Broward County?

Perhaps because we have a generation of iatrogenic addicts due to the on-going grossly negligent physician narcotic prescriptions? Coupled with inadequate medical and/or treatment resources to help this generation. Of course Broward County is the epicenter and will continue to be the epicenter until the medical community steps up to the plate and helps fix the wrongs that their peers created. We are loosing an entire generation due to physician prescribed narcotics.

Taken as prescribed = dependency/addiction/death

(Read the Warning Label – and demand an “informed consent”)

Dependency/addiction/deaths are growing at alarming rates in our Veterans, post-op patients, worker’s comp patients, injured athletes, post dental extraction patients, and our elderly Medicare patients.

Thursday - June 18 - Silent March - Fort Lauderdale

 

CARA 2015 – Call to ACTION by Friday, April 29th 2015

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The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) of 2015 is the most expansive federal, bipartisan legislation to date for addiction support services, designating between $40 million and $80 million toward advancing treatment and recovery support services in state and local communities across the country, which will help save the lives of countless people. The bill was first introduced in September 2014, and then reintroduced in the 114th Congress in February 2015. The bill was introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and is currently sitting in the Senate and House Judiciary committees, as well as the House Education & Work Force and Energy & Commerce committees.

CARA needs your support as it moves forward through the legislative process! We urge you to get into action and contact your Senator and Representative today and urge them to co-sponsor and support CARA!

CALL TO ACTION: NATIONAL CALL IN DAY IS APRIL 29TH

If the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act of 2015 is going to become a reality in 2015, key members at relevant House and Senate committees are needed to co-sponsor the bill.

In the Senate, CARA (S. 524) has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Currently, 12 Senators have signed on as co-sponsors of S. 524.  Without support from additional members of the Judiciary Committee, the bill will not advance.

In the House, CARA (H.R. 953) has been referred to three Committees or Subcommittees.  They include: The House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations; the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health; and the House Education and the Workforce Committee. Currently, 9 Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of H. 953.

FOLLOW THIS LINK – SCROLL DOWN TO TAKE ACTION – ENTER INFO – LINKS TO YOUR FEDERAL SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES – SENDS LETTER

Takes all of 2 minutes to help

save lives and suffering!

JUST DO IT NOW!

LINK: http://www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/action/ask-your-senator-or-representative-support-comprehensive-addiction-and-recovery-act-cara-2015

Peaceful Protest Board of Medicine Meeting

Peaceful Protest YPR TAM FARR 4-10-15 BOM

FL Physician Narcotic Scripts; Multi-State Devastation Continues

This is a “doctors” office?

Yes it is, in Florida.

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The self regulated FL physician community did nothing and continue to do nothing. Its very obvious, since 2009, that this is “acceptable standards of medical practice”. FL physicians must endorse this type of medical practice, as the PILL MILL physicians continue to maintain the privilege of practicing medicine in our state. Verified by the lack of disciplinary performance by the medical boards.

Why and how does ensuring “quality medical standards” and “ensuring the public HEALTH safety of FL citizens” become the job of law enforcement?

It is NOT their job, it is the job of the governor appointed medical boards, and the DOH/MQA.

They and the governor have failed to uphold this stated mission,

allowing lives to be destroyed and allowing fatalities to continue.

In addition to the destruction of FL lives and families, lives and families along the “OxyExpress”

KY/GA/OH/WVA/NY/PA/MD/NH/MA/NC/SC/TN

have been lost and devastated due to FL physicians.

The minimum requirement to run a Pill Mill is a PHYSICIAN

“The affiliated VIP Pharmacy was, authorities said, dispensing more oxycodone than any other retail pharmacy in the nation — more than 27 times the amount sold by the average Florida pharmacy and 49 times the national average. A lone doctor labored inside the clinic to accommodate the demand from drug seekers, many from other states including Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky.”

Pill Mill Owners Turn Snitch to Cut Jail Time

http://tbo.com/news/crime/pill-mill-owners-turn-snitch-to-cut-jail-time-20150301/?page=1

We Have T-Shirts

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Please consider a donation of $25 to purchase a STOPPNOW (Stop the Organized Pill Pushers) Now T-shirt.  All donations will be used to try to put an end to this devastating epidemic in our country.

Simply click on the T-Shirt image on the right hand side of our blog.

Naloxone in FL? Board of Medicine says YES!

555011_711685038848511_1183186764_n The Skeeterhawk Experiment

On Friday, December 5, 2014, the Florida Board of Medicine said “YES” to a Florida physician who was asking permission to prescribe naloxone to his patient at risk of opioid overdose, for administration by a third party to that patient, via intramuscular(IM) kits, off-label intranasal (IN) kits, or auto-injector.

Florida takes a HUGE step!

It has been a lot of work since our little One Spark project, but it has been worth every blood, sweat and tear.

Thank you, doctors, for exhibiting tremendous courage!

StoppNow (Maureen Kielian)logoand Suncoast Harm Reduction Project Suncoast Harm Reduction Project (Julie Negron and Wendy Nebrija) were in attendance to support the efforts of Skeeterhawk’s Kelly M Corredor.

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Only 12% of FL Physicians Using PDMP

Florida’s PDMP, E-Forcse has been in operation for @3 years.

Only 12% physicians are voluntarily complying.

 

Florida, particularly Broward County,

is the epicenter of this now national opioid epidemic.

 

It appears that the “epicenter” and “Pill Mill capitol” will remain associated with Florida physicians. FL physicians are not using a tool that has been proven to work.

FLORIDA – Where is the outrage?

FL physicians NOT using a tool that is data proven to save lives!

FL physicians started this problem, and are continuing the problem!

“Dispensing” practitioners are required to enter the script information into the PDMP.  

Urgent Care Centers are popping up left and right.  In fact, across the street from each other. Yes, they can dispense narcotics.  Are they using the PDMP as required?  Who is checking dispensing physician practitioners compliance? And, what are the ramifications of non-compliance?  Will their license be in jeopardy? Of course not.  That’s how the FL “governor” appointed medical boards roll in Florida.

 Pill Mill Capital /OxyExpress

Chapter 2 is in full swing.

11-14 PDMP Usage Florida Board of Medicine

Pill Mill Closed: Doctors STILL Practicing Medicine

Clinic owner charged with running $15 mill. pill mill

Wellness Center of Broward is closed.  But, guess who still retains the privilege of practicing medicine in the state of Florida today 10/23/14?

Dana Richard, DO and George P Jones, MD.

Dr. Richard was previously disciplined for over-prescribing narcotics.

Dana Richard, DO  Dana Richard, DO

This PHYSICIAN prescribed drug epidemic will never end until the FL Medical and Osteopathic Boards do their job, and uphold their mission of “protecting the public health safety of FL citizens”.

 The owner was extradited to Kentucky – yet the physicians are still practicing medicine.  You can’t have a “pain clinic/wellness center/urgent care center without a PHYSICIAN.

The PHYSICANS are the root of this national epidemic.

Joel Shumrak
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The owner of a South Florida pain clinic is accused of writing prescriptions for trouble, supplying out of state dealers and drug addicts with some popular pain pills. Investigative reporter Carmel Cafiero has the exclusive.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) — According to federal authorities, $15 million in pain pills traveled through the Pain Center of Broward and into the hands of addicts and drug dealers in Kentucky.

7Skyforce hovered over the scene on Tuesday as the Fort Lauderdale clinic was raided and the clinic’s owner, Joel Shumrak, was arrested. The 66-year-old is accused of running a pill mill.

Carmel Cafiero: “Good morning. Are you Mr. Shumrak?”

Joel Shumrak: “No.”

Carmel Cafiero: “You’re not?”

It was 2012, and it was Shumrak. Carmel Cafiero was questioning Shumrak about Dr. Leonard Haimes, who worked for Shumrak until the doctor’s license was suspended.

The state accused him of prescribing more than 10,000 highly addictive oxycodone and other pain pills to five patients.

Cafiero: “I’d like to talk with you about Dr. Haimes and the suspension.”

Shumrak: “I can’t talk about Dr. Haimes.”

Cafiero: “Why not? This is your clinic. He’s been accused of failing to…”

Shumrak: “Dr. Haimes doesn’t work here anymore.”

Cafiero: “Right, but he was working here when the state claimed.”

Haimes’ license was later revoked, but Shumrak continued in business, until now.

“Thank you, God, that the DEA in Kentucky worked in conjunction with our DEA, federal and closed them down,” said Janet Colbert of  STOPP Now, a group that rallies against pill mills.

Activists have protested at the clinic for years and consider Shumrak’s arrest a success.

Maureen Kielian, also of  STOPP Now, asked, “My question now, this clinic’s closed, what about the doctors? Because you can’t have a pill mill without a physician. They are the root problem. Florida has failed its citizens.”

The clinic was accused of causing the overdose deaths of two of those citizens. Heather Belleme and her boyfriend, Chance Wilson. The claim was settled, but the families’ attorney thinks the clinic should have been closed long ago. “How was he permitted to operate this clinic on a federal highway for three years after my clients had died?” said Attorney Jeffrey Fenster. Federal authorities have seized Shumrack’s assets, including 43 bank accounts, three cars and his Boca Raton home. The business is closed, and there is an eviction notice on the door.

Today (6/5/14) the only ones celebrating are activists who worked to get the clinic closed.

Shumrak will be sent to Kentucky to face the charges. His attorney said his client is pleading not guilty.

LINK:  http://www.wsvn.com/story/25706925/clinic-owner-charged-with-running-15-million-pill-mill

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A doctor’s office with an armed security guard is

“good medicine”?

Yep, that’s Florida!

 

 

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Making Change

Stoppnow attended the Fed Up Rally this weekend,September 28th 2014 and marched to the White House. Much needs to be done as evidenced by the 2000 in attendance and those also suffering loss that weren’t able to attend. The reception was held Saturday 9/27/14. As they were showing pictures of lost loved ones I could hear sobbing and visually see uncontrollable shaking from the person sitting next to Maureen. It turned out to ba a young man. Mark was there from Massachusetts with his sister. They had just lost their mother 4 weeks earlier. Mark said that the pills are still coming from Florida.
We had scheduled meetings with offices of Senators and Representatives. One must wonder where the Surgeon General is in all of this. The CDC has named the prescription drug deaths to be a national epidemic for years now. gone are the days when we had a Surgeon General speak out against irresponsible companies “Big Tobacco”. Rear Admiral Boris D Lushniak,MD.,MPH., is acting Surgeon General since 2013, no permanent appointment has been made;But he is Not Acting like a Surgeon General. He is silent.
I must share one meeting that we had with Karen L Summar, MD,MS Legislative Assistant to Congressman Blackburn 7th District Tennessee U.S. House of Representative. I asked Karen Summar if she could explain HR 4709 co-sponsored by Representative Blackburn and sponsored by Representative Tom Marino 10th Congressional District Pa.(HR 4709 passed unanimously in the House). And that we feel it ties the hands of the DEA. She stated that if a pharmacy makes one mistake then the DEA is taking away their license. I asked if she could give us one example since this is not the case in Florida. I had files with me pertaining to Walgreens and their Jupiter Distribution Center. They were cited for clear diversion of prescription drugs.

Oxycodone Purchases by Dosage Unit

Location                                   2009                                  2010                            2011

Hudson,Fl                             388,100                            913,900                       2,211,700

Ft.Myers,Fl                              95,800                              496,100                  2,165,900

Oviedo,Fl                               80,900                              223,500                     1,684,900

Port Richey, Fl                     344,000                              849,000                     1,406,000

Ft. Pierce,Fl                          250,000                             881,400                      1,329,600

Ft Pierce, Fl                          153,500                               507,100                 1,192,000

All of the above are still licensed.  In addition I stated that I had put one in particular aside for Representative Blackburn as it directly relates to her bill.  The Walgreens customer was issued too many pills. The store called the individuals house in an attempt to retrieve the pills.  The store was told by the customers girlfriend that he is a drug dealer and is out selling the pills and he told his girlfriend that he hit pay dirt today. Despite this incident the pharmacy continued to fill his prescriptions. Ms Summar took that Walgreens report. Maureen asked her how she felt about the PDMP. I said that we would like it to be mandatory. She abruptly stood said this meeting is over and left. The meeting lasted less than 5 minutes and was hostile in nature. It was very bizarre and as we gathered our things and walked out she was nowhere to be found.

The Bill is now in the Senate as S-2862 sponsored by Senator Whitehouse and Senator Hatch, changes have been made and it is an improvement over HR 4709 however it is still compromising to the DEA.

We met with the DEA in Arlington, Va on Wednesday October 1st.  What a welcome change, totally different tone. We were with them from 930a-12p. One of their requests of us was to help Legislatively and specifically mentioned Representative Blackburns and Representative Tom Marino of Pa. Bill HR 4709 I explained all of the above.  Maureen is sill in Pennsylvania for a few more days and has been unable to be granted a meeting with Representative Marino’s office

We will be having a follow-up conference call with DEA today.  My goal is still to reduce production. We do not need 114 tons of pills.

I ask all of you to contact your state Surgeon Generals office and request to have the 5th vital sign, that of pain (paid for by pharmaceutical) to be revisited. There does not need to be a standing order for a 30 day supply of opiates for a post-op patient nor for a large amount of them being prescribed by dentists after extraction of wisdom teeth.The public perception of those not touched by this epidemic is to trust their doctor and take as prescribed. They are not  aware that this is a highly addictive drug.

Stay tuned

Position Statement: FL PDMP and “Controlled Substance Prescribers”

9-8-14-revision_stoppnowControlled Substance Prescriber Definitio1