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Showing 15 posts in Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure Adopts the Model Policy

Over the summer, the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure adopted the Model Policy for the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice (“Model Policy”) that was issued by the Federation of State Medical Boards (“FSMB”). FSMB created their policy in 2012 to help medical boards provide guidance and education about issues related to social media. The FSMB Model Policy followed the American Medical Association’s (“AMA”) 2010 “Professionalism in the Use of Social Media” policy. Both incorporate the same principles, but the FSMB offers more concrete examples of conduct that should be avoided in social media activity. More >

THE PERILS OF PRESCRIBING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES

Posted In Health Care Law, House Bill 1, KASPER, Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, Kentucky “Pill Mill Bill”

As the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure’s (“KBML”) implementing regulations for House Bill 1 are now effective on an emergency basis for the next six months, physicians, nurse practitioners, and other licensed prescribers have specific statutory and regulatory requirements establishing when and how they may prescribe controlled substances.  These rules must be followed or physicians and others may face serious consequences that include criminal misdemeanor offenses, loss of prescribing privileges, and disciplinary actions against professional licenses. All practitioners must pay careful attention to these rules because even minor violations may create problems. Because the KBML’s regulations are more comprehensive than the requirements of House Bill 1, a great deal of confusion exists concerning what physicians and practitioners are required to do and when. Recognizing that compliance with its emergency regulations may mean major changes in the way physicians practice medicine, the KBML has announced that it expects full compliance by October 1, which creates a welcome grace period.   While the ambiguities and details will be worked out over the course of the next six months, physicians should take heed and incorporate these things into their practices. More >

The New Business of Prescribing Controlled Substances

Posted In Health Care Fraud, Health Care Law, Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, Kentucky “Pill Mill Bill”

Out of the heated debate between the Attorney General representing law enforcement and the Kentucky Medical Association representing physicians, the Legislature enacted Kentucky’s “Pill Mill Bill,” which is  sweeping legislation designed to combat prescription drug abuse through increased regulation of pain clinics and greater scrutiny of prescribing practices by various agencies of state government.  The Pill Mill Bill becomes effective on July 20, 2012 and imposes requirements not just for doctors practicing pain medicine, but for all practitioners who prescribe controlled substances.  In addition to placing significant limits on who can own a pain clinic and how a pain clinic is operated, the legislation requires Kentucky’s licensing boards, including the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure and the Kentucky Board of Nursing, to enact new regulations that impose standards for physicians, nurses and other practitioners when a Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substance is prescribed. Because the Pill Mill Bill imposes sweeping changes for pain clinics and prescribing practices, all health care providers and their patients will  face new challenges as procedures change.  Regardless of whether the legislation stops the shifting pattern of drug abuse from illicit to prescription drugs, physicians are at the center of the Pill Mill Bill and are now required to reduce the risk of diversion and abuse of prescription drugs when treating a patient’s pain. Whether the collateral effect of the Pill Mill Bill is the serious under treatment of pain is yet to be seen. More >

PRESCRIBERS BEWARE: KENTUCKY ENACTS PAIN CLINIC AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES LEGISLATION

In a Special Session, the Kentucky General Assembly enacted House Bill 1, sweeping legislation designed to combat prescription drug abuse through increased regulation of pain clinics and greater scrutiny of prescribing practices by various agencies of state government.  Governor Beshear signed the legislation into law, and it will become effective in July, 2012.  In addition to placing significant limits on the ownership of pain clinics and imposing a host of requirements governing the operations of pain clinics, the legislation also strengthens licensing standards for physicians and other practitioners and requires practitioners to take specific steps prior to prescribing or dispensing a Schedule II or Schedule III controlled substance. More >

Courier Journal publishes online prescription database

Posted In Health Care Law, Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services, Medicaid

The Courier Journal recently published an online database allowing the public to search, by prescriber last name or zip code, the number of prescriptions Kentucky doctors and other prescribers wrote between 2001 and 2011 for seven commonly-abused drugs: alprazolam, diazepam, morphine, methadone, fentanyl, oxycodone and hydrocodone. The newspaper accessed information from Kentucky’s Department for Medicaid Services via the Open Records Law, so the database is limited to Medicaid claims data. As Senator Grassley (R-IA) and other senators raise concerns that over-prescribing may constitute fraud and abuse, it is important for Kentucky physicians and prescribers to comply with compliance plans, state and federal laws, as well as Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure guidelines. More >

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