Board of Medical Licensure to amend pill-mill regulations to address concerns of doctors and some patients
Mike Wynn of The Courier-Journal reports that Dr. Preston Nunnelley, the board’s president, told state lawmakers Wednesday that the board plans to submit amendments to the regulations by Nov. 1 to address the concerns of doctors that the new law is proving too burdensome, and because patients are being charged for urine tests that insurance companies are refusing to cover.
Nunnelley said the amendments would provide more flexibility on when patients must receive those screenings. He said “chronic pain patients would not face regular screenings unless they are considered high risk for abuse or diversion,” Wynn reports. “The amendments are also likely to exempt certain patients, such as children, from checks through the Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system, or KASPER, he said.”
Nunnelley called the changes “tune-ups.”
“This is a new experience for the board of licensure,” he testified. “This is the first time we’ve done anything on this scale and obviously we didn’t do it perfect.” Or perfectly. (Read more)