Don’t Voluntarily Relinquish Your Medical License or DEA Registration Number, Here’s Why
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law I am often contacted by clients who are health professionals or own businesses in the health care industry who have been approached by government agents or investigators regarding possible complaints or charges. In many cases, the individuals involved […]
Number of Oxycodone-Related Deaths Down in Florida
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law It looks like Florida’s prescription drug legislation, the statewide prescription drug monitoring database and the prescription drug crackdowns by law enforcement may be working, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). The FDLE states in its […]
Hydrocodone Combination Drugs Could Be Reclassified to Schedule II Category of Controlled Substances
By Lance O. Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm, and George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee voted 19 to 10 in favor of moving hydrocodone combination drugs from schedule III into the more restrictive schedule II category […]
Orlando Physician To Pay $10,000 Fine for Prescribing Painkillers to Undercover Agents
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On January 24, 2013, an Orlando physician pleaded no contest to racketeering charges for allegedly prescribing pain pills to undercover agents who did not need them. The physician was fined $10,000 and placed on 20 years of probation. […]
Florida Pharmacy Owner Accused of Medicare Fraud
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A family that owns a number of South Florida pharmacies is allegedly under investigation for Medicare fraud, according to a number of sources. On January 17, 2013, federal authorities raided one pharmacy location in Naples, Florida. Drug Enforcement […]
Update: Fake DEA Agents Calling Citizens, Claiming to Have Arrest Warrant
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Health care providers beware, there is a scam making its rounds in Central Florida. Con men are telephoning citizens, including physicians, and pretending to be Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents in the hope of extorting money from them. […]
Nationwide Telephone Scam: Phony DEA Agents Extorting Money from Victims
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning the public to be aware of a prescription drug scam. This telephone scheme is extorting money from people all over the country. On November 28, 2012, the DEA released a press […]
New Anti-Prescription Drug Abuse Campaign in Pinellas County
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Pinellas County has started a new billboard campaign aimed at curbing prescription drug abuse. The billboard message reads, “We’re shutting down Pill Mills in Pinellas County.” The first two billboards were erected on April 1, 2012. Several smaller […]
Doctor Voluntarily Relinquishes License Due to Allegations of Malpractice and Over-Prescribing Oxycodone
By Danielle M. Murray, J.D., Attorney, The Health Law Firm A doctor in Polk County, Florida, has lost his license to practice medicine. Rather than risk having his license revoked in an administrative proceeding, the now former doctor offered to voluntarily relinquish his license. The Florida Board of Medicine voted to accept the voluntary relinquishment […]
Fake Pharmacist Sentenced to Prison for Working in Central Florida Pharmacies
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 2, 2012, a former Altamonte Springs resident was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for fraudulently working as a Central Florida pharmacist from 2000 to 2009, according to the Department of Justice […]
Orlando Pharmacist Accused of Filling Phony Prescriptions for Painkillers
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Sex, prescription drugs and money – sounds like the next big rock ‘n’ roll song, doesn’t it? According to a number of news sources, the owner of an Avalon Park-area pharmacist was allegedly knowingly filling phony prescriptions for […]
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Nabs New York Doctor Allegedly on Drug Charges
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A raid by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) on November 27, 2012, at a New York home led to the arrest of an emergency room (ER) doctor, according to a number of sources. Once inside, agents allegedly found […]
Nation Rx Drug Abuse Summit Held in Central Florida-Leaders Share Struggles and Triumphs in “War Against Prescription Drugs”
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law From April 2 through April 4, 2013, the country’s leading experts on the prescription drug epidemic met in Central Florida for the National Rx Drug Abuse Summit, according to the Orlando Sentinel. National leaders including the White House […]
Nurses: Beware of Nationwide Telephone Prescription Drug Scam
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning nurses to be aware of a prescription drug scam. This telephone scheme is extorting money from people all over the country. On November 28, 2012, the DEA released a press release […]
Crackdown in the Supply of Prescription Medications Drive Floridians to Heroin
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law For the past three years, Florida lawmakers and officials have waged war against prescription drug abuse. At the peak of the pill abuse epidemic, seven people a day reportedly died of a prescription drug overdose in Florida. As […]
CVS Blacklists Second Set of Doctors Accused of Overprescribing Painkillers
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law CVS is again stepping up its own internal efforts to combat the nation’s prescription drug abuse epidemic. According to Reuters, the second largest retail pharmacy chain announced it is cutting off access to the most powerful painkillers for […]
Two Florida Doctors Convicted of Money Laundering Stemming from Pill Mill Operation in Broward and Palm Beach Counties
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Two South Florida doctors faced life in prison and fines up to $2 million each because nine (9) of their patients allegedly died of drug overdoses, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). However, on July 30, 2013, […]
DEA Offers New Prescription Drug Return Policy
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Looking to improve the prescription drug abuse epidemic in the United States, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced September 8, 2014, that it would permit patients to return their unused prescription medications to pharmacies. This new rule, covering […]
It is Always a Bad Idea For a Dentist To…
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Massage Therapists: Beware of Nationwide Telephone Prescription Drug Scheme
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning massage therapists to be aware of a prescription drug scam. This telephone scheme is extorting money from people all over the country. On November 28, 2012, the DEA released a press […]
Psychologists: Don’t Fall Victim to Scammers that Call and Claim to be DEA Agents
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning psychologists to be aware of a prescription drug scam. This telephone scheme is extorting money from people all over the country. On November 28, 2012, the DEA released a press release […]
Dentists: Beware of Nationwide Telephone Prescription Drug Scam – Callers Claim to be DEA Agents
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning dentists to be aware of a prescription drug scam. This telephone scheme is extorting money from people all over the country. On November 28, 2012, the DEA released a press release […]
United Parcel Service (UPS) Agrees to Pay Settlement for Online Pharmacy Shipping
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) will pay $40 million to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle a probe related to its shipments on behalf of illicit online pharmacies. This announcement came on March 29, 2013. Click here […]
Pharmacists: Beware of Scammers that Call and Claim to be DEA Agents
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning pharmacists to be aware of a prescription drug scam. This telephone scheme is extorting money from people all over the country. On November 28, 2012, the DEA released a press release […]
It’s Always a Bad Idea For Mental Health Professionals To…
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“Operation Main Pain” Targets More Than 60 in Fraudulent Prescription Drug Ring
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office announced a fraudulent prescription drug ring bust that spanned throughout Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida, on September 19, 2013. So far, 61 people, including the alleged ringleader have been arrested. The operation […]
Orlando Pharmacists Arrested for Alleged Drug Trafficking
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On June 4, 2013, two Orlando-area pharmacists were arrested for allegedly dealing oxycodone. The Orlando Sentinel reported that these pharmacists co-owned a local pharmacy, which was searched by the Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation (MBI).This marks the fourth Orlando […]
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Investigates Six Walgreens Pharmacies in Florida
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) served an Order to Show Cause (OSC) on a Fort Myers Walgreens pharmacy on February 21, 2013. According to the DEA, the OSC was served as a notice to provide Walgreens with an […]
Sex, Drugs and Money Lands Avalon Park Pharmacist in Handcuffs
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Sex, prescription drugs and money – sounds like the next big rock ‘n’ roll song, doesn’t it? According to a number of news sources, the owner of an Avalon Park-area pharmacist was allegedly knowingly filling phony prescriptions for […]
Phony Pharmacist Gets Prison Time for Working at Pharmacies in Central Florida
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 2, 2012, a former Altamonte Springs resident was sentenced to three and a half years in federal prison for fraudulently working as a Central Florida pharmacist from 2000 to 2009, according to the Department of Justice […]
More Than 7,000 Patients of Oklahoma Dentist Are Being Asked to Get Tested for HIV and Hepatitis
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The unsanitary practices of an Oklahoma dentist may have exposed more than 7,000 patients to HIV and hepatitis, according to a number of media sources and the Oklahoma Department of Health (DOH). Currently officials with the Oklahoma DOH […]
Walgreens Files a Petition to Lift the Immediate Suspension Order
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law There’s a firefight brewing between Walgreens and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). On October 10, 2012, Walgreens filed a petition asking a federal judge to lift the Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) that bans its distribution center in Jupiter, […]