title: The role of disabled physicians in the diversion of controlled drugs.
abstract: To test the assertion that disabled physicians are loose prescribers and clinically meaningful contributors to the diversion of controlled prescriptions, an anonymous survey of physicians in a confidential treatment program in Ohio was conducted to compare pre- and post-recovery: (1) self-reported number of controlled drug prescriptions written, and (2) self-rated appropriateness of prescribing practices. Forty (50%) of the surveyed physicians responded. Opioids alone showed a post recovery reduction in the number of prescriptions (-4.5; 95% CI: -9.5 to -0.5). The volume of prescribing in all controlled drug categories was small from both a law enforcement and clinical perspective. Respondent's self-assessment of prescribing practices indicated conservative pre-, and more conservative post-recovery prescribing, increasing from 2.0 in stimulants (CI: 1.0-4.0), to 3.5 in sedatives (CI: 1.0-6.0). Despite limitations, this initial data provides evidence to refute the assertion that disabled physicians are loose prescribers and meaningful contributors to the diversion of controlled prescriptions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-4922, USA. tvp@po.cwru.edu
authors.forename: T V
authors.initials: TV
authors.lastname: Parran
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Grey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009294:Narcotics; D009820:Ohio; D010815:Physician Impairment; D010819:Physician's Role; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics