Miami Psychiatrist Writes More Than 100 Prescriptions Per Day
File this one under OMG: the Miami Herald today reports that Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has sent a stern letter to federal health officials citing the case of a Miami, Fla. psychiatrist who has been writing an average of 153 prescriptions a day. Sen. Grassley’s concern is possible abuse of federal dollars. My concern is that and patient care, especially when the paper contacted the doctor in question and he said:
“In a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, Mendez-Villamil said he works long hours and sees patients only for 10 minutes every two or three months. Each patient may require four or five prescriptions, he said, accounting for the large numbers.
“‘When you know the patient, and the patient is stable, 10 minutes is long enough,’ Mendez-Villamil said. He said he often works 12-hour days during the week and Saturday mornings. He said he only prescribes what’s medically necessary.”
How the hell could any doc claim to know a patient based on 10-minute appointments? How could a doc have so many patients who require so many multiple scrips on a daily basis? How could he provide even a minimal level of care to his patients?
I smell a rat and I hope the state medical board looks into this doctor.
Good on the senator and his staff for continuing to push on these issues.
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