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Prescription painkiller abuse is a problem throughout our country, but the central location for much of the crisis appears to be south Florida. Nowhere else in our country can you find more pain clinics, where prescription after prescription of addicting drugs is given out to nearly everyone that requests them. The pain clinic ordeal in Florida is full of suspicion and trouble, and twists and turns have many people wondering how some of these clinics are able to get away with so much.
Pain Clinics and MRI Scans
First of all, there is no regulation of these pain clinics yet. A new one opens nearly every day in south Florida, and many are storefront offices that prescribe meds to patients without any apparent medical need. Most clinics will require the patient to submit an MRI, but many opponents would argue that the doctors never even look at the test results and simply hang on to them in case they need to show a medical reason for the painkillers. But another twist in the story is that there are now mobile MRI clinics that park themselves outside strip clubs or bars and take patients 24 hours a day. These MRI scans are performed for $250-$300 cash. Since they do not bill clients or insurance companies, these mobile clinics typically are not on the list of those that get inspected.
The problem with these kinds of operations is that the pills given to many of these patients are not really to ease their pain or discomfort. They are drugs being bought and sold to addicts, not only in south Florida, but they are making their way across the country. These drug dealers and addicts have found an easy way to get their hands on a large number of pills, either to support their own addiction, or to sell for a profit to others.
Addiction Treatment at Pain Clinics
Another twist in the story comes from some of these pain clinics that are now offering addiction treatment. For many, this seems like yet another way for these “pill mills” to make money. First, their poor management of prescriptions and monitoring of patients causes many to get hooked on their drugs such as valium, oxycodone, or others. Then, they offer still more medications, namely Suboxone, to treat the addiction. There is no behavioral therapy or treatment that goes along with the rehab, nor is it done by trained professionals. Instead, they promote a one-stop attitude of receiving addicting drugs, then getting more drugs to treat the addiction. But by going to these pain clinics for addiction treatment, a patient is not getting away from the problem, and instead, is being exposed to drug dealers, pill poppers, and the same environment in which they became addicted.
The state of Florida is currently working on ways to regulate these practices. New laws have been passed that will enforce stricter qualifications for pain doctors, better monitoring of prescriptions, and investigation of clinics. Many people just hope these measures are enough to control the out-of-control prescription painkiller business.
Sources
South Florida pain-clinic doctors also treat drug addicts
