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The New Jersey Attorney General’s Office recently initiated proceedings to suspend an Old Bridge doctor over claims that he inappropriately prescribed medications to many patients. These prescriptions included anabolic steroids and strong pain medications like Oxycontin.
According to the complaint filed with the New Jersey Board of Medical Examiners, the doctor not only prescribed the drugs indiscriminately, but also continued to do so even when presented with information that patients were illegally reselling the drugs. The Attorney General stated that this doctor’s actions rose to the level of “gross malpractice, gross negligence, and/or gross incompetence.”
Dangers of improper drug prescriptions
There is a distinct danger in prescribing medication that is unnecessary for a patient’s medical condition. A drug with specific intended uses should only be used under the circumstances for which it was designed. Improper prescription is a form of medical malpractice.
Unintended uses may result in adverse outcomes for the patient. These negative outcomes range from minor reactions to serious long-term effects or death. Many medical conditions require very specific treatment protocols, and acting outside of these protocols may prolong or worsen symptoms, providing no relief to patients.
The dangers of improper drug prescriptions, such as unnecessarily prescribing powerful painkillers, can also result in prescription drug abuse. Many medications have an addictive quality to them. Inappropriate prescription of these types of medications may turn an otherwise healthy person into a drug abuser. Drug abuse is one of the most serious and common side effects of prescribing medication improperly.
Doctors who illegally or improperly prescribe medication inappropriate for a patient’s condition may be liable for medical malpractice. This type of malpractice is very dangerous to patients and avoidable through the diligent and proper prescription of medication by doctors. When doctors fail to follow established guidelines for prescribing medication, they put lives at risk and should be held accountable for their actions.
Source: NJ.com, “N.J. moves to suspend license of Old Bridge doctor who wildly prescribed painkillers, steroids,” Mark Mueller, Amy Brittain, May 6, 2012.