First Nations communities may soon focus on pill-pushing physicians

[eileen]

Cape Breton Post, North Sydney-Nov/10/05
Pill pushing physicians may soon be the central focus of first Nations communities aiming to rid themselves of ongoing prescription drug abuse.
"They're angry," said Kevin Keating, deputy registrar at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia.
During a two -day Unam'ki Prescription Drug Misuse forum that ends to-day, participants said they want to know precisely how to blow the whistle on physicians over prescribing sedaives to aboriginal people.
The crowd, gathered at the North Star Inn in North Sydney, learned that of the 63,000 physicians in Canada, about 40 are responsible for 10 per cent of the benzodiazepines prescribed in first Nations comunities.
The statistic startled some and infuriated others.
"I want to know what I write, who to send it to, and what evidence is needed," said Daphen Hutt-MacLeod, a psychologist at Eskasoni community Health Centre. "I deal with the damage these drugs cause."
"If I did something wrong in my profession, I'd know it in a hurry."
Although no specific protocal was available was at the forum, panel members did commit to getting participants the information needed to report physician misconduct.
As well, the college continues to reprimand physicians guilty of misconduct.
Keating said at least one Cape Breton physician is currently being investigated by the college for over-prescribing.
"there may be more," he said. "you 'll hear about it in the nexzt few months."
Keating, recently appointed as chairperson of Nova Scotia's Prescription Monitering Program, asked the crowd to give him at least one year to deliver results.
"Prescription drug abuse is and incredibley complex problem." he said. "There are lots of ways to resolve it."
The province's 13 chiefs have signed a letter indicating prescription drug abuse is one of their greatest concerns, said Richard MacLaclan, professor at Dalhousie Medical School.
MacLaughan also chairs the Drug Utilization Evalutation Advisory Committee for Non insured members Health Benefits. The committee's goal is to recommend improving prescribing, dispensing and use of drugs for First Nations and Inuit clients of the program.
"As part of that, we recommend culturally appropriate educational interventions and strategies," said the MacLachlan.
The committee was established nearly two years ago and is focused primarily on on addressing diabetes management, benzodiazepines, opioids, anti-depressants, crystal meth, and ADHD syndrome.
The two -day forum is organized through the Tu'kn Initiative, and is suported by Health Canada's Primary Health Care Transition Fund, Aboriginal Envelope.
tcmacdonald@cbpost.com

[rdjanis]

Great article, thanks for sharing!

[eileen]

I poster the above newspaper article. The first Nation community is very small.
I know they will get results. I had to type it because I don't know how to transfer the scan from the word program. Forgive any typos.
eileen

[rdjanis]

They may be a small community, but as a whole are strong and know the importants of 'standing together' in regards to important issues.

[elisa]

Thanks for sharing Eileen.

I'm sure that the province of Nova Scotia is not the only one having these problems of overprescribing psychotropic meds to the aboriginal people.

Let's hope something will be done about it!!

[eileen]

I expect good things to come from this. I wish I didn't have so many things going on right now, because I have a lot of reporting to do myself.
There is a psychiatrist working here in Sydney, that has lost his license twice because of his alcholismn. He again lost his license one day and it was reinstated the next. His investigation is still going on.
He used to work at the hospital and went into work drunk. A young man was brought in by his sister to go into the addiction center. He said he was just a cost to the system and wouldn't so anything about it. The young man killed himself and his family pushed for answers. They even stood in front of the hospital with signs. The doctors in the hospital did there own review and then wouldn't show it to the family. there was a court case and the family got the review with whole sections marked out. You can get away with anything around here and they all stick together. I'm hoping more people will start reporting.
eileen

[elisa]

The medical community is like a family... When something happens, they stick up for each other regardless. It's secretive and try to hide as much as they can get away with. I found that out when I filed my complaint to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. The X pdoc was chastized in a private meeting and when I requested a report on that, the response was that it was not public. I told them I was not the public, I was the complainant. It didn't make a difference. So I'm not aware if they addressed all the issues I put forth.

I've been told that they've changed their own law recently and the complainant is allowed to be included in those meetings. It's not BACKdated though.

[eileen]

Elisa it’s the “Old Boys School” with all of it secrets and lies and cover ups. I think it is archaic that you were not allowed to read the results of your own case. That cover up, speaks for itself. I was in contact with the College once and I asked how much privacy I would have, and I was told: “We can’t guarantee that as the board is made up of people in the community.”
It’s not very encouraging is it? I do think the First Nation people here will make some headway, as there are numbers there. It is not like one person reporting alone. I wonder if the College of Physicians and Surgeons was formed to help the consumer or if it was to protect the doctors.
eileen

[rdjanis]

Originally Posted by elisa

I've been told that they've changed their own law recently and the complainant is allowed to be included in those meetings. It's not BACKdated though.

Hmmm, I was not invited to my complaint meeting. I was informed of what the doctor was warned against, that the info was put on file..... but I didn't see the actual warning or anything.

[eileen]

He received a warning and that is a good thing. Look at how secretive it all is. They can kill somebody have their license suspended, sent away for a two week course and reinstated. To do it all over again I might add.
eileen

[elisa]

Originally Posted by rdjanis

Hmmm, I was not invited to my complaint meeting. I was informed of what the doctor was warned against, that the info was put on file..... but I didn't see the actual warning or anything.

That's what my pdoc told me just a few months ago. I don't know if one would have to ask or be invited. Yeah, I received a letter that there would be a private meeting scheduled and that was it! (abt March 2004) When I inquired about it some time after, the meeting had already taken place. They refused to devulge the info of what was covered during the meeting.

[eileen]

You should be able to see your file and have a copy of it at least. We are supposed to to be living in a free country. This is ridiculous. You are not allowed to see what they said or did, and yet I was told that I could not be afforded complete privacy. See the difference, when it is doctor or patient.
eileen

[elisa]

Eileen, exactly!

[mmcelwaine]

Eileen,

Are there any Canadian lawsuits or protests that I can become involved in relating to Paxil and the fact that Paxil has made me an addict?

Matt.

[eileen]

Hi matt, good luck on your journey and welcome to Paxil Progress. I've sent you a PM.
eileen

[Samalabear]

I thought I would bump this a bit because no one has posted in this in a while and I just joined and my brain is burning with my long-dormant reading abilities:

From my personal experience I now know that antidepressants slowly and insidiously take away things you thrived on in the past: In my case, aside from the ability to take joy walking and exercising, stripping away about 50 percent of my creative abilities, the worst I think is the desire to read, or the patience -- pick your choice of words. This lack of interest has led to substantial lack of knowledge about this awful drug (s) and their effects. I wonder how many others it affects this way? Probably alot. I've been reading all of these articles and I get more and more angry as I go along. Like most of the members here, I feel like I've been the victim of the ultimate dupe. Are side effects like these part of the design or by accident. Probably by accident, but you have to admit, it's a coup for the drug companies! You've created a bunch of sheet because the more you're on these drugs the more your motto becomes KISS. Seeking out information is hard work, research is hard work -- but without them you're in the dark.

My thoughts on where things should go:

No. 1. Psychotropic drugs should never be prescribed by anyone other than a "qualified" psychiatrist.

This being said, we've got to get rid of psychiatrists whose main business is charging you $125 and up an hour (oops, that's really 50 minutes and shrinking) for "therapy" and then hand you a bunch of scripts at the end of and say see me in three weeks.

The two times I've been on these SSRIs, Zoloft three months, and then the Paxil, it was both GPs. My experience of the highly-paid, book-writing drug pushers is from my son with Asperger's Syndrome. It was truly stunning.

I'm sure lots here have seen "The Soporanos" and the psychiatrist in that show, and maybe you've seen "Huff" on Showtime, where the lead character is a psychiatrist. I've been told that these characters are very, very true-to-life -- and they probably are -- BUT, I've never met one.

In my son's time on this planet I've never seen a psychiatrist who actually did real psychiatry, and this includes Committees of Special Education, so my son was always getting it from all sides. Most of the "therapy" was handed to psychologists, which is yet another problem. My best therapists were not highly-paid -- not yet -- and they were graduate students at Stony Brook University working on their master's.

My son's best therapists, again -- were the counselors at a camp called Rampo-Anchorage. A lot of these counselors had gone through this camp and now wanted to go into the area of psychology and psychiatry. Most of the kids were off meds for the summer and they came back looking terrific and happy and healthy. But because schools like their special ed population on drugs, looking pale and not having an appetite, within six weeks of starting school the whole nightmare started again for both the parents and their kids.

The counselors at these camps, we can only hope they are the wave of the future because they all believed in real therapy. BTW, the beauty of Rampo-Anchorage Camp was the fact that it was a camp with true sliding scale and it was one-on-one. The campers ranged in socio-economic status but the majority were poor, inner city kids and kids like my son. What was common among all is the abuse all of these kids suffered at the hands of the system. It was identical whether the district was poor or wealthy (my son was in the highly-touted Three Village District in Suffolk County, New York, a district where the only high school, Ward Melville, is nicknamed "The Pharmacy").

Well, gotta go to work. I was watching "Real Time" on HBO last night and Bill Maher's final words after the New Rules segment was all about the abuse of the drug companies. Highly recommended if you didn't catch it. Definitely one of the best shows in this series this year. It make you laugh and cry at the same time, and angry.

[eileen]

Originally Posted by eileen

There is a psychiatrist working here in Sydney, that has lost his license twice because of his alcholismn. He again lost his license one day and it was reinstated the next. His investigation is still going on.
eileen

This shrink was in the news again last week. He failed his urine test the last 3 months and is suspended once again. They sure did give him enough time. I don't know why he is allowed to practice at all.
eileen