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fishdude
Member
Reged: 12/27/01
Posts: 161
Loc: Very SW, Very hot.
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Interesting document from Arizona Medical Board about censure/fine of Dr. Gibbs for prescribing controlled substances for the now defunt OPs My Private Doc and Meds Worldwide...
http://www.azmdboard.org/docimages/MD%2013736%20Non-confidential%20Final%20Order%2000159E.pdf
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I know I have a brain, the MRI proved it!
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MrB
Old Hand
Reged: 12/11/01
Posts: 488
Loc: Rhode Island
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Dr. Gibbs was my very 1st consult. He was nice but a get to the point dammit, kind of guy. Most ladies did not like him.
MrB
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"I aint fallin for no banana in my tailpipe!"
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zeuzjuz
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/16/01
Posts: 1155
Loc: the milky way
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It seems to me, after reading over that twice - (very interesting document by the way, thanks for posting) - that the medical board was focused *mostly* on the fact that 1. he did not obtain/review any kind of medical records on the patients and 2. that we was not 'schooled' in pain management/chronic pain, but rather in gynecolgy.... It does mention that there was no 'doctor/patient' relationship - but it seems to me that the Board was mostly focusing their judgement on the fact that no records were kept and this was not the area of the doctors' expertise. This definitely goes to show, in my opinion at least, that medical records DO infact make a BIG difference, with how Medical Boards look at online-prescribing doctors. It seems he would have had a much more lenient hearing if he had kept adequate records, reviewed them with the patient at time of consult, and been more proficient in the area of chronic pain and pain management. Alot of people say records are a mere 'formality' and that only a PortaMedic establishes a true 'doctor/patient' relationship - Well this may be true, I don't really know - but this document does go to show that they are indeed concerned over whether the doc has medical records on the patient or not. I decided at the end of last year to start *only* using online doctor consultations where they requested medical records, whether other places are 'easier to use' or not. For both my safety and the safety of the doctor. It is very important that they have some kind of record of your past treatment, on which to go on when furthering your pain management. And this article definitely proves that to be true. Infact about 1/2 of the document is comprised of talking about the fact that he was doing these consults 'without adequate records in front of him' - So this says to me - yes, Portamedic may be what the medical boards are looking for to completely establish the doc/patient relationship - but the records do make a big difference. There has been alot of debate over 'what good it does' to send in medical records, well - here you have it.
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//zeuzjuz
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zeuzjuz
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 12/16/01
Posts: 1155
Loc: the milky way
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Also, I am happy for him that they did not try to completely pull his license. It sounds like they did allow him to go straight back to his 'regular practice' (gynecology) but on probation, and with stricter rules on what he could prescribe and to whom. Also they fined him, and required him to take some continuing education medical courses. I am just happy that they did not mess his life up worse. Often when I hear of these doctors being admonished by their state medical boards, I feel so sorry for them. In some cases, I have seen much harsher penalties on the doctors. I guess this also goes to show that different state's have different regulations when it comes to their medical board law. Other cases have been much worse. Some doctors' have had much worse penalties. Either the medical boards are finally lightening up a little bit on the 'online doctors' or AZ has a more lenient medical board than some states.
Some cases I have seen have been much worse than this. Although I do still feel sorry for the Dr. and hope that this doesn't damage his life and career too much. Not that I agree with the law and how it pertains to online doctors, but I DO think it is important for the doctor to at least make sure and obtain past medical records on their patients, if they are going to prescribe online. You can tell from this document that his penalties would most likely have been much less had he done so. In the future I do not think there will be any OP's that will do consultations without doctor records from the patients' past, documenting that they have been treated for some type of ongoing pain. Actually - 2 years ago, that was not that odd. (For the consultation service to not require records) - Today, it would be very odd.
I would say 99% of the consultation services now require past medical records. (And I don't mean filling out an online form I mean records from an actual past doctors' visit) - I actually can't believe there are doctors still out there that would be willing to take the chance of prescribing online without medical records in hand. The more times things like this happen, the less likely we will be to ever see that again. And being someone who needs pain medicine, I would have to say that the law is the law, like it or not, and I would be happy, personally, if there were no OP's left prescribing without requesting records. The existence of places that prescribe without past medical records is a threat, these days, to all of the other consultation services. Just my opinion.
I know some people have a hard time getting medical records so I am sure my above statement will not be too popular with some people, but I am not saying at all (!) that I agree that it should be *harder* for those in pain to receive adequate pain treatment, or that those with real problems obtaining records should be excluded. But, the laws are the way they are. I am simply saying that the more OP's out there that do not follow requirements such as obtaining medical records, the quicker we will see the whole online consultation world go away. If we want these places to stay around then we should be happy when a place requires records, with no exceptions. Otherwise (in the eyes of the medical boards), they are just making the rest of the places look bad.
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//zeuzjuz
Edited by zeuzjuz (05/27/03 02:01 PM)
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fishdude
Member
Reged: 12/27/01
Posts: 161
Loc: Very SW, Very hot.
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Good posts zeuz, and I agree with everything you said. I fear the buymeds type places of the world where all you do is fill out an online form and never even speak to a doctor could result in the closure of ALL OP type places.
And I **know** I'm going to get flamed for saying this, but I'm going to say it anyway. I don't understand the "I can't get my medical records" kind of statements. There are laws in place in all 50 states and federally that REQUIRE doctors to give you your records. (HIPPA, recently introduced, is just one). If someone has a doctor who refuses to provide records, then you should write your state medical board. They simply CAN NOT do that, and the medical board will fix it. I've heard stories here (and I'm not saying they aren't true) like "my doctor died, so I can't get records". Again, state medical boards can help with that. Is that a hassle? Sure, but when a doctor dies, your records are not buried with him. If nothing else, walk into a minor emergency center, pay your $85 and complain of your pain issue. The doctor there WILL document it, and on your way out, ask for a copy. If they ask you "why", kindly state "it's really none of your business". Again, they HAVE to give it to you, and that is enough "records" for any OP I'm aware of. Is that expensive? Well yeah, but OPs aren't exactly cheap, and it's the price you may have to pay to ensure the continued availability of OPs. (and even if you include that $85 minor emergency visit fee, doing that and using a "real" OP that requires med records is still much cheaper than Buymeds....)
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I know I have a brain, the MRI proved it!
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