t_oshan2003
Board Addict
Reged: 10/17/03
Posts: 385
Loc: East
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I read via email from a friend that they heard medsmaidsimple is giving the DEA info about patients ? Anyone here this ?
Is it from trying to DD ?
Never used em, just curiouse.
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timetogo
Member
Reged: 07/07/04
Posts: 164
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It's just a ridiculous rumor with no basis in fact that got started on another board. I can't imagine why any OP who wants to stay in business would be calling up the DEA bringing unwanted attention to their company as well as online pharmacies in general. It makes no sense. The rumor probably got started by a disgruntled customer who got turned down for some reason.
Time
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t_oshan2003
Board Addict
Reged: 10/17/03
Posts: 385
Loc: East
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well its enough to make me stay away from them...
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barelythere
Member
Reged: 11/29/04
Posts: 100
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Oh c'mon...get a grip here...Think about how ludicrous this is....
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BuckFutz
Newbie
Reged: 06/04/04
Posts: 47
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THIS is the "meds made simple" reply to the (apparrently) scurillous "e-rumor" that they hasd turned someone in. On the board it came from, the rumor-starter got exposed pretty quickly as having heard it (at BEST) second hand...BuckFutz 1/28 @ 2:45PM PST
Good lord, people... get ahold of yourselves!
I just spoke to this patient at length regarding this issue. This patient will be posting on his own behalf regarding the matter. In the meantime, it does not help this patient or anyone else to continue to assume that you understand what happened, what actions we took or what will come of the matter.
As much as I wish I could tell every misinformed person on here what truly happened and what will come of this, the patient's privacy is my first ethical (not to mention LEGAL) concern.
Calls for "boycott MMS!" and false statements about how "MMS MUST be sharing info with everyone and their brother" are absurd. I am a HUGE advocate of informational forums like PW, but, honestly, this is scary... that SO MANY intelligent people could grab hold of something that no one really knows the facts about and just run wild with it, just spouting out whatever comes to mind to say - that doesn't do anything for us, for those pain sufferers who use our services, or for ANY customers of ANY consultation services, for that matter.
Neuroman said it best in his post, and to paraphrase, I fully agree that in order to stay in business and to continue to provide service to you all - the legitimate sufferers of chronic pain - we MUST follow federal and state guidelines and stay well within the limits of the law. If you do something illegal, we must do our best to protect your privacy, but first and foremost, we must protect the rights of all our other patients to continue to use our service, as well as the licenses of our medical staff.
Let me clarify for all of you - we make it very clear, in accordance with federal law, that alteration of medical records is a crime. If you can not provide legitimate medical records to support your chief complaint, go get a physical exam. DO NOT ALTER YOUR RECORDS in order to seek treatment via telemedicine. The DEA is eager to shut companies down who illegally prescribe. You alter your records, you risk your freedom, the right of your physician to practice medicine, and the closing of ALL telemedicine services.
1. MMS did NOT turn any patient over to law enforcement. Please follow this link for further information about the legal issues associated with "Legally Compelled Disclosure" of Protected Health Information... http://www.medsmadesimple.com/privacy.cfm (bottom of page).
2. MMS has not forwarded ONE SINGLE PIECE of Protected Health Information of any patient to law enforcement.
3. MMS does NOT share your information with ANY other source aside from those "Covered Entities" involved directly in your treatment, as outlined by HIPAA.
4. "Go Daddy, Inc." is a software company who is also a domain name registrar. When MMS was founded, we registered the domain name "medsmadesimple.com" through this company, just as thousands of other companies do. No information regarding any patient was/is/will be shared with Go Daddy, Inc. or ANY source not directly involved in providing you treatment.
5. Read what you sign. You have rights. Not only are you obligated to follow consent to treatment agreements in order to use our service, we must also inform you of your legal rights and we must obey the law in order to provide service to you. We will continue to protect the rights of legitimate patients who abide by these agreements by denying service to anyone who takes matters in their own hands and who breaks the law in order to attempt to receive treatment.
6. If you submit falsified or altered medical records (altered in ANY WAY - changed the date of service, "edited" the doctor's notes, cut & pasted a doctor's name...etc.) for the purpose of receiving treatment with narcotic medication you are committing a crime. It may not seem like such a big deal to you, but no matter how you justify it, it is illegal to alter your medical records. The Patient Affirmations which you are required to sign in order to become a Member of MedsMadeSimple clearly state this. We MUST, by law, follow protocols to prevent such individuals from receiving treatment fraudulently.
We at MMS have taken great strides to legitimize this service for all chronic pain patients. We are working hard to work within federal and state laws and guidelines for prescribing/dispensing. We have secured THE LOWEST available prices for medications through our pharmacy affiliate Brighton Pharmacy and we have even negotiated that those prices are guaranteed through November 2006. We are constantly looking for ways to make this process easier, faster, better, more legitimate, and we are responding on a daily basis to the changing laws of each state.
I look forward to the clarification that this patient has agreed to provide in an upcoming post. If any of you have questions that I can address directly, please do not hesitate to address them to me at
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Best regards,
http://www.medsmadesimple.com : simple; the way telemedicine was meant to be...
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Don't ask me no questions & I won't tell you no lies...
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timetogo
Member
Reged: 07/07/04
Posts: 164
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barelythere, you hit on the key word there..."think." No one ever went broke underestimating the critical thinking skills of humanity. It never ceases to amaze me!
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wren
Enthusiast
Reged: 06/01/02
Posts: 298
Loc: up north & homesick for the di...
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When I hear rumours like this I usually think first thing,that it is probably someone with a grudge.Perhaps they were turned down for a consult due to improper records,or the Dr. didn't think they needed meds. They are one of the most above the board records OP out there.Very strict about records,yes but that makes me think all the more that it would be someone who was turned down.It doesn't take much to make rumours fly on these boards! Wren
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its all fun & games til someone puts an eye out,then its still fun ,you just can't see***
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effie1
Member
Reged: 11/03/04
Posts: 107
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It involved them contacting his dcotor due to apparently some altered dates on med records and it is and was not MMS who turned him onto the LE but his PCP due to the PCP saying the records were altered and so wa the doc signature. However this person has stated that he did not alter the records and that a copy of the records in question are being sent to his docot to see and hopefully the doctor will see the records or signature were not altered as the person states he did not alter them.
Very scary situation but if the records are altered or anyone does alter records there is a big risk of this happening again to aomeone. The bottom line is have your records in order and please do not use forged or altered ones as this is why the OCS could be shut down and none of us with legit records have a way to seek the medications we need online.
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barelythere
Member
Reged: 11/29/04
Posts: 100
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I would hope that MMS confronted the patient BEFORE going to the person's PCP with this. If the guy is innocent this could be a huge embarrassment for him. However, starting a rumor that an OP is turning it its patients to the DEA, the people who put food on their tables, is a rotten, scummy thing to do. He could get sued for libel. Seems he is in enough trouble to go posting this drivel.
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MMS
Journeyman
Reged: 09/26/04
Posts: 58
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To put all minds at ease, you can find on the board that this post was originally made on the patient's retraction of the assertions he made. MMS did NOT "turn anyone over to the feds". This patient was contacted by his doctor's office and claims that they informed him that THEY were prosecuting him. This has not been substantiated by MMS.
MMS considers this a private matter between this particular patient and our organization, not to exclude the obvious interest and attention that this post received. We must, in spite of these erroneous claims and the maelstrom of hateful email which followed, protect this patient's privacy.
I was pleased to see that this issue started so many people talking - the issue is critical to the industry as a whole. When people alter or falsify medical records, they knowingly or unknowingly commit a crime. When they actually convince a doctor that these records are legitimate and they receive treatment under these auspices, the severity of that crime is compounded significantly. What may seem a small and trivial act of desperation can quickly escalate to a situation which may involve local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and which can jeopardize the freedom of both patients and health care professionals, as well as professional licenses and businesses such as online consult services and OPs.
BOTTOM LINE - don't alter your records. It isn't worth it. If you suffer from a chronic condition, you are most likely seeing a physician regularly. If not, you SHOULD be. A simple physical exam citing reference to your chief complaint is sufficient for most cases to constitute adequate medical records. The cost is nominal compared to what you risk otherwise.
Altered records are typically easy for a trained health care professional to spot and VERY easy to substantiate. HIPAA provides rights to any "covered entity" (including doctors, pharmacies, and "health care clearinghouses" such as MMS) to exchange any information specifically related to your medical history, treatment, and other related information.
Even if your "revised" records work with a consult service who does NOT scrutinize medical records as thoroughly as MMS does, that other service may be shut down someday. If this should happen, guess where your records are going to end up?...
If you think that altering records or falsifying a doctor's note or the like is not such a serious thing to do, be warned - the FBI and the DEA do NOT agree with you.
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Best regards,
http://www.medsmadesimple.com : simple; the way telemedicine was meant to be...
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