Pill Mill Monitor : Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Kay Van Wey Law Firm : Prescription Drug Overdoses & Pharmaceutical Abuse

 We have become a pill popping nation.  Billions of dollars are spent by Big Pharma every year  in  Direct to Consumer advertising (DTC) and even more is spent  wooing doctors to prescribe more and more pharmaceutical products. So, it comes as no surprise that the U.S.A. leads the world in its' consumption of prescription drugs.

A recent press release issued  by IMS Health (a pharmaceutical industry consulting organization), revealed that in 2011 it expects Americans to spend between $320-330 billion (YES that is a B not an M) on prescription drugs. 

Why do Americans spend more on prescription drugs than the citizens of other countries? In my personal opinion, it is because the slick marketing machines of Big Pharma have convinced us that we NEED drugs to improve our health and our quality of life. DTC marketing has led some patients to self-diagnose and actually request prescriptions by name brand from their physicians.

Of course, I concede that there are many good drugs on the market that are medically necessary and that actually do cure illnesses, or at least improve the quality of life for some patients. However, our nation's addiction to prescription drugs is out of control.

Part of the problem rests with doctors who are under more and more pressure to prescribe drugs.  It has been estimated that there is one drug salesperson for every six doctors in America, and each of them are armed with cash, gifts, and perks. 

The time has come for consumers to take the reins and educate themselves about the drugs they are being prescribed.  I will be writing more about particular drugs that are of current concern and I will also be providing resources to consumer advocacy groups and watchdog organizations that track prescription drugs.

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On its seventh day of deliberations, a federal jury on Thursday, June 24 found Kansas  doctor Stephen Schneider and his nurse wife Linda Schneider guilty of conspiring to profit from illegally prescribing painkillers to patients, many of whom later died. The jury also found the Schneiders guilty on five counts of unlawfully writing prescriptions and on 11 health care fraud counts. The jury found Linda Schneider guilty of 15 money laundering charges.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Treadway prosecuted the case, which consumed eight weeks of trial. In a 34-count indictment, the Schneiders were charged with conspiring to illegally distribute prescription drugs that contributed to 21 deaths, fraud, and money laundering. The prosecution put on evidence of 176 overdoses and 68 deaths related to the pill mill.

This was a case of “money before medicine,” Tanya Treadway said. According to the prosecution, about half of the 10,000 patients treated at the Schneider Medical Clinic received pain medication. The clinic was open 11 hours a day every day, had 14 exam rooms and  scheduled patients 10 minutes apart.  Prosecutors allege the clinic made $7 million in a little over four years through health care fraud. The Schneiders pocketed about $1.5 million. The prosecution put on evidence of 176 overdoses and 68 deaths related to the pill mill.

Dr. Schneider’s attorney, reportedly supported by the advocacy group Pain Relief Network that advocates for the right to pain treatment, argued that Dr. Schneider acted “with a pure heart.” He said that “what [Dr. Schneider] did with his patients, he did so innocently, he did so honestly, and he did so courageously.”

Curiously, Dr. Schneider chose to drive a bright yellow hummer emblazoned with skull and crossbones to and from the pill mill on a daily basis. I wonder what kind of message he was trying to send? Was he  in a state of deep denial or did he have  so little fear of ever being prosecuted for his pill peddling that he felt bulletproof? We will probably never know, but I am sure the vehicle represents to the victims everything that was wrong with the Schneiders and their so called medical practice.

Sentencing has not yet been set. The Schneiders could face up to a life sentence.  The Schneiders also will stand trial in several civil wrongful death lawsuits which have been filed against them.
 

 We applaud the courage of Tanya Treadway in stepping up to the plate to prosecute this case.  It takes hard work and effort to bring persons such as these to justice.  Prosecutions such as these must continue to happen. Pill mill operators need to go to jail  just like persons who peddle street drugs go to jail. Pill mill operators must also be held liable for monetary damages for the devastation that they are causing while lining their pockets with blood money.Hopefully, the combination of vigorous criminal and civil prosecution will stem the tide of prescription drug overdose deaths.
 

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