Alaska Board Sends Contradictory Letter to Pharmacists Over Filling Opioid Prescriptions (Part 1)

Headshot of attorney George IndestBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The “Opioid Crisis” in the U.S.

We all know that there is an “opioid crisis” in the U.S. It is probably prevalent in every state. In Florida we have been suffering under it for the past ten to fifteen years. So it is nothing new to Florida. Government regulators including, but not limited to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), Florida Attorney General (AG), different State’s Attorneys’ (prosecutors) offices, multi-jurisdictional task forces, local law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), along with federal prosecutors, have […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:14-04:00May 21, 2019|Pharmacy Law Blog|
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One in Four Florida Healthcare Providers Skipped Required Opioid Prescribing Class

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 5, 2019, state officials announced that about one in four Florida health care providers failed to take a required two-hour continuing education (CE) course on prescribing controlled substances.  The deadline for the mandated course was January 31, 2019. The Florida Department of Health (DOH) is now preparing to send non-compliance letters advising the providers that they have 15 days to take the mandated course or face disciplinary action, said DOH agency spokesman Brad Dalton.

“If the department does […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:15-04:00May 10, 2019|Pharmacy Law Blog|
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Florida Gov. Pulls Large Number of Appointments Made by Predecessor, One from Board of Acupuncture

By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. One of these was to the Florida Board of Acupuncture. This is not the first time he has called back last-minute decisions made by his predecessor. In January 2019, he retracted 46 of Scott’s “lame duck appointments.”

The new governor has now pulled a total of 215 of Scott’s prior appointments to various boards and committees.

Here’s a List of the Appointments Made by Scott That Governor DeSantis Pulled for the Professional Boards Under the Department of Health […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:16-04:00April 1, 2019|Massage Law Blog|
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DeSantis Rescinds Large Number of Appointments Made by Former Governor, One from Board of Dentistry

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. One of these was to the Florida Board of Dentistry. This is not the first time he has called back last-minute decisions made by his predecessor. In January 2019, he retracted 46 of Scott’s “lame duck appointments.”

The new governor has now pulled a total of 215 of Scott’s prior appointments to various boards and committees.

Here’s a List of the Appointments Made by Scott That Governor DeSantis Pulled for the Professional Boards Under the Department […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:16-04:00March 25, 2019|Dental Law Blog|
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DeSantis Yanks Large Number of Appointments Made by Former Governor, Several on Board of Nursing

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

On February 22, 2019, Florida’s new Governor, Rick DeSantis retracted 169 appointments that the former governor made before leaving office. Several of these were appointments that had been made to the Florida Board of Nursing. This is not the first time he has called back last-minute decisions made by his predecessor. In January 2019, he retracted 46 of Scott’s “lame duck appointments.”

The new governor has now pulled a total of 215 of Scott’s prior appointments to various boards and committees.

Here’s a List of the Appointments Made by Scott That Governor DeSantis Pulled for the […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:16-04:00March 25, 2019|Nursing Law Blog|
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FL May Allow Providers to Avoid Past Mental-Health Conditions, Drug Issues on License Applications

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

Health care professionals ask patients about their medical histories every day for in treating them. But what happens when they are requested to divulge in their own history to the state as part of the licensing process? Before being licensed in the state of Florida, for example, health care providers are required to disclose if they have been treated for mental-health or substance-abuse disorders within in the past five years. However, this could be changing […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:17-04:00February 27, 2019|Mental Health Law Blog|
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Alaska Board of Pharmacy Sends Letter to its Pharmacists Sending Mixed Signals Over Filling Opioid Prescriptions (Part 1 of a 2 part series)

George IndestBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The “Opioid Crisis” in the U.S.

We all know that there is an “opioid crisis” in the U.S. It is probably prevalent in every state. In Florida we have been suffering under it for the past ten to fifteen years. So it is nothing new to Florida. Government regulators including, but not limited to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), Florida Attorney General (AG), different State’s Attorneys’ (prosecutors) offices, multi-jurisdictional task forces, local […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:17-04:00February 6, 2019|Uncategorized|
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Virginia Doc Lands 40 Years in Prison For Running Multi-state Pill Mill

George Indest HeadshotBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law
On October 2, 2019, a Virginia doctor received a 40-year prison sentence for illegally prescribing more than half a million opioid pills over 19 months. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia handed down the sentence to Joel Smithers, who was reported to have operated a “pill mill” out of Virginia, according to authorities. In addition to prison time, he was given an $86,000 fine and will serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison time, according to court documents.

The sentence is lighter than it could have […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:19-04:00January 16, 2019|Mental Health Law Blog|
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Will Florida Board of Medicine Follow Board of Pharmacy’s Lead and Recommend PRN Evaluations for Applicants Before Application is Considered?

Lance Leider headshotBy Lance Leider, J.D., The Health Law Firm

At the February 12, 2014, Florida Board of Pharmacy meeting, some board members expressed frustration with the fact that applicants for licensure with prior mental health or substance abuse related issues had not been evaluated by the Professionals Resource Network (PRN) prior to the consideration of their applications by the Board.  The applications were scheduled for consideration, but applicants were told to come back after they had PRN evaluations.  This recommendation by the Board of Pharmacy could have potentially serious consequences for applicants.

So far, the Board of Pharmacy is the only Board we are aware of to make such a recommendation. We […]

By |2024-03-14T10:00:55-04:00June 1, 2018|Board of Medicine, IPN and PRN, The Health Law Firm Blog|
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Little Known Facts About State and DOH Investigations That Could Save Your Professional License

Headshot of The Health Law Firm's attorney George F. Indest IIIBy George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law

The notice that you are under investigation may seem nonthreatening. It may come in the mail, be delivered personally by an investigator or you may receive a telephone call from the investigator. This is a very serious matter for you.

Our attorneys include those who are board certified in health law by The Florida Bar, those who are nurses, and those who are themselves licensed health professionals.  Our attorneys represent health care professionals and providers at formal administrative hearings at the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH), in […]

By |2024-03-14T10:01:54-04:00May 15, 2018|Mental Health Law Blog|
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