Hi,

I'm not sure who you are asking. Perhaps you could research that for us and get back to us?

You are referring to a user Comment. It was not spam or a phishing attack so I 'approved' it (meaning, it got posted.) It is, on its face, a reasonable comment. I (this web domain) have no particular relationship with MoveOn.org or *any* other organizations or public figures, politicians, corporations... you get the idea? Hope so.

The doctordeluca domain policies are spelled out (upper right corner.) I have made it as easy as possible for people to access my Library, so to speak. Even user registration is optional. And I have never bothered to examine the list of those of have registered even though I don't request that. I, Dr. DeLuca owner of doctordeluca.com, have made promises Re: not selling or otherwise doing anything with user data that is logged by (Wordpress) default or is volunteered. For example, I have *never* sent out an email to 'registered users' nor will I ever.

Obviously I am *not* MoveOn.org and cannot speak for their policies except to say they have nothing to do with me and I have no responsibility of anyone's interaction with that organization (which again, is not me.)

Pete, I can certainly understand the need for caution in our times of rapidly decreasing civil liberties and privacy protections. I can only speak for myself and my domain - I have no interest in your names or digital data; this is not a profit making or even break-even operation. I share zero user data with anyone. I have zero incentive to do so.

I do permit users to speak as freely as possible, including sharing legitimate links (not spam, not phishing sites, not malware sites, not retail sites...) other than that, I stay out of the way (except to occasionally explain the site or answer a medical question or correct expressed medical misunderstanding.)

This domain *was* tightly associated with painreliefnetwork.org of the Pain Relief Network. That domain and organization do not exist anymore. PRN went bankrupt Dec 2011; our president Siobhan Reynolds died x-mas 2012 and painreliefnetwork.org disappeared a few months later. Since Jan 2012, there is nobody here except me. The domain policies (to be updated Aug 2012) spell it out (upper right corner.)

There are no adds here, nothing to buy. Mostly advocacy, essays, and academic/legal documents which are free to you to read or not. I have let comments continue here, as a sort of testimonial record, even though I am not actively added to the archives. The topics I set out to cover are covered in full. I am satisfied with my bodies of work in addiction/harm reduction and Re: the pain crisis. I honestly have already written everything I have to say about all of that.

I may be closing Comments soon, as the HONcode people seem to want me to build an entire bureaucracy around managing them. That would be beyond me. I'll know what agreement I can come to with them over the next week.

..alex...
Alex DeLuca, M.D., FASAM, MPH
[owner and only employee of doctordeluca.com which makes zero dollars (no ads, no grants, no corporate funding, nada;) all expenses paid by me out of pocket]
..alex...

Outrageous, sleeve. I am so sorry all of this is happening.

One suggestion - in some (many? most?) states "Hospice" services are sort of a "safe harbor" regarding controlled substances prescribing. I have personal experience of this a friend in NYC with untreatable prostrate CA. He was being pretty well medicated by a good doc who was a friend of my from my residency days. When my dying friend was finally willing to accept Hospice care, the first thing the Hospice doc did was double the fentanyl. (Thank you, kind doctor!)

So check out hospice services where you live. If none, move to a state that has such care. Its a wonderful thing. Too bad you have to be dying to get it.

Here you go, Ivory:

Posts RSS: http://doctordeluca.com/wordpress/feed/

Comments RSS: http://doctordeluca.com/wordpress/comments/feed/

I very much appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with this issue. The "initial media smear" is, unfortunately, what sticks in the public mind - in large part because they conveniently forget to follow up with the story that the doc was cleared.

Very happy to hear doc Naramore is still doing The Work. My god, that man is one tough, dedicated physician. These trials and "investigations" are unbearably brutal. Even winning these cases, that being an obscenely rare outcome, often leave the doc financially and psychologically destroyed.

And yeah, drug war Trash Journalism is *not* a victimless crime as you noted in another comment.

Thank you, CincyGuy.
..alex...

Hello again, Tom;

It occurs to me that you might be referring to Congressional hearings that were fortuitously titled, "DEA Regulates Medicine hearing." Perhaps Siobhan did write that, but we were happily surprised with the official wording. (DEA chants that it doesn't regulate medicine and isn't responsible... well for anything really, beyond 'fighting drugs.' )

Anyway, the page with every document related to that event, and other stuff, is: DEA Regulates Medicine archive

Lot of Siobhan on that page - its a pretty nice collection... one stop shopping. :-)

That was quite a day. Testimony in overflowing hearing room in the morning. In the afternoon I got my first (and only) Lobbying experience, trailing along after Siobhan and Frank Fisher and Charles Frohman (the kind and patient pro helping us.) We so rarely got together in person; that part was really nice.
..alex...

Thank you BhandaryDefense. There are many documents here that you might want to examine. Much work has been done by way of literature reviews (often cleverly concealed in scary looking legal briefs -smile-) and these are a gold mine of references you'll need to make a scientific, medical standards and ethics based, defense.

I urge you to use the Categories pull down widget on the right, or the search box top right or the tag cloud bottom right to find what you need from our fairly substantial archives.

One such gem: Pain Relief Network files State Tort Claim vs. WA State; Laura Cooper, Esq.; Pain Relief Network; 2008/07/08. [Full text PDF] - I consider this document the epitome of 'Pain Relief Network' thought, if you will.

The team of Counselor Laura Cooper, a lawyer once a Hurwitz patient, who specialized in Americans with Disabilities law, and Siobhan Reynolds, deceased President of the crushed PRN, was fierce. This document is relentlessly thorough - the madness laid bare. All *very* well referenced (you definitely want to read the footnotes with this one.) Highly Recommended.

While I have retired from medical expert witness work, I would be happy to discuss the case with you, by email or phone, and give you my view from experience working on many 'pain docs in trouble' cases. It won't be encouraging, probably; but your case may be so outrageous that you end up with a choice of strategies.

Anyway, information is free, around here. :-) So call or write, if you think I might be able to help you.

..alex...

It is a long and difficult process getting to the Supreme Court.

PRN did sue the State of Washington in 2008 arguing that the WA State Opioid Dosing Guidelines promulgated (illegally) in 2007 were in violation of both State and Federal law. The briefs and related documents can be found here: PRN Sues WA State

I highly recommend starting with the State Tort Claim filed by PRN as the most readable brief which will give you a good idea of reframing the war on docs/pain crisis as a matter of civil and human rights that Reynolds/Cooper evolved in as they took on WA state. It is well worth the time to read this one - students of the war on docs/pain crisis will find it enlightening.

What happened? The Court refused to hear our case on a matter of standing. At the same time, they agreed to hear a case by the Sierra Club representing the interests of insects. This pretty much says it all.

Finally, I know that Siobhan and Kevin were working on another approach, a new organization. But I don't know what the concept was, and they are no longer around to ask. Hopefully recent essays and writings of Siobhan Reynolds will come to light over time.

Hi Fran,

Yup, Dr. R. Martinez is the real deal. A doctor who actually holds the interests of the patient before her highest, not the policeman's who is looking over her shoulder. I reviewed a lot of her charts - it was sort of weird. All in the cases the govt was trying to convict her on, for 'inappropriate prescribing,' the patients got better! And some of these people were really hurt; I'll never forget the images of a huge ulcerating leg wound that she patiently managed to perfection. The govt said she wasn't being a doctor in her handling of that case? HUH? Well she won; her clinic never closed for even a day. (It was scary as all hell - the govt win about 95% or 97% of federal drug crime cases against physicians.)

Good for you, Fran; enjoy a *real* doctor-patient relationship! (Like night and day, is it not?) :-) Please give Rosa my love when you next see her. Thanks.
..alex...

I entirely understand your disbelief and outrage that such behavior by physicians is not merely tolerated but has become normative, as browsing through Comments here shows that it has.

I suggest writing a letter to the state Medical Board. If your state is anything like NY, they are obligated to investigate and respond to you. The content can be pretty much what you’ve written here – except no all caps, no exclamation points.

You want to know:

Is this ethical medical behavior? Doesn’t the physician have an obligation to make a good faith effort to find a physician to continue treatment – if only a proper, gentle taper followed by re-assessment – in context of a medical relationship involving medications that should never by abruptly discontinued?

You might ask them if what happened to your son is not, in fact, (and do put this in quotes because it is a powerful phrase to invoke in a letter to a Medical Board) “abandonment of the patient.” And if it is not, could the board please explain what constitutes “abandonment of the patient” in your state?

And so on. You could also speak with a malpractice attorney. BUT – none of this is going to help your son.

Perhaps you could ask your doc for some advice here… perhaps he would agree, under the circumstances, to take your son on as a patient? Alternatively, maybe he has a colleague who owes him a favor, or a friend-colleague that will honor a referral from him? Certainly worth a try.

Write to the Board out of a civic sense of responsibility; your tone should just assume they would want to know about this doc and the effect she’s having on your lives by her precipitous actions. But talk to your doc first; the kid needs a physician.

Hope this helps a little. I hear these stories so often, for so many years. My response is an emphatic NO – This is not the way medicine ought be practiced, not even close. This IS close to if not outright ‘abandonment of the patient’ – and this is one of the very worst medical acts one could commit.

She could well end up in serious trouble herself. Doubly if this is not an isolated incident, and it probably isn’t. That the govt is leaning on everyone Re: the prescription drug abuse moral panic which encourages medical opiophobia… that is not a defense against an abandonment charge, I don’t think. (But I’m way outside of my area of expertise; perhaps a lawyer with some experience will see this and enlighten us?)

So sorry this happened to you and yours. Find some medical care for your kid, and then have at her if you want. These fights are so unpleasant – but Medical Boards (in general; some states are far better than others) bear a lot of responsibility for the current state of affairs. They need to hear from those of us on the recieving end of their short sighted and cowardly ‘policies.’ ..alex…

Hi brenda,

There are very few medications **less** toxic than opioids. The first link below basically says 'Lay off all the NSAIDs and Tylenol (which have considerable morbidity and mortality especially in older people) and offer all such patients opioids.' Cannabinoids are the only less toxic than opioid meds that come to mind.

See:

Pharmacological Management of Persistent Pain in Older Persons - an American Geriatrics Society 'Clinical Practice Guideline.' Full text here: PDF with TOC

AND:

Do We Really Want e-Prescription Monitoring? --- the graph in this one pretty much says it all. :-)

..alex...