With the fairly-recent advent of large numbers of documented Oxycontin abuse here in the US, what is everyone’s concensus on the doctor that was recently sued because a patient abused the medicine the MD prescribed him and subsequently died. A wrongful death lawsuit because someone blatently didn’t follow both the priscribing directions AND the manufacturer’s instructions? That’s BS, IMHO. I think the whole case is due in large part to the media hailstorm that has plagued Purdue Pharma and the since the cases of abuse and deaths from OD’ing started popping up in largely rural areas of the south. As a nurse, I see both sides of the story. I know about the huge abuse potential, but the company has clearly done what it was supposed to have done so far, including removing the 160 mg dose from production. I find it very unfair that the company…and now practioners…are subject to lawsuits due to ignorance. Doctors, nurses, and pharmacists beware…until the newly-formulated hits the market in '03, we all have to watch our backs!
festiva76, LPN