On October 14, 2013 a regulatory tree fell in the woods.

Did you hear it?

The “tree” was Indiana’s emergency rule regarding opioids for chronic pain.

The tree will sound again on December 15, 2013 when it actually goes into effect.

In the meantime, I urge all physicians who practice in the Hoosier State to take a look at the document available at:

http://www.in.gov/pla/files/Emergency_Rules_Adopted_10.24.2013.pdf

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller is taking an active role. Here’s his very informative website:

http://www.in.gov/bitterpill

Indiana’s “First Do No Harm” prescriber took kit (more like a textbook) is very good, up to date, and available for download at:

http://www.in.gov/bitterpill/docs/First_Do_No_Harm_V_1_0.pdf

And a fine summary poster is available at:

http://www.in.gov/bitterpill/docs/First_Do_No_Harm_Poster.pdf

The Indiana State Medical Association has had a role in this process as well.

http://www.ismanet.org/news/ViewArticle.aspx?ArticleId=836#.UnhRjJTk-XQ

And the Greater Louisville Medical Society plans on offering educational seminars in Southern Indiana.

I am currently in the process of digesting these new regulations and will soon publish an opinion on what they mean for physicians and patients.  My first recommendation is to look at that summary poster.

Trees are falling.

 

James Patrick Murphy, MD, MMM attended medical school at the University of Louisville, interned in Psychiatry at the San Diego Naval Hospital, studied at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, and later served as a Naval Flight Surgeon onboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise.  He returned to Louisville in 1989 for residency training in Anesthesiology after which he completed a Pain Medicine Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Murphy is Kentucky’s first physician to achieve combined board-certification in Pain Management and certification in Addiction Medicine. Dr. Murphy is President of the Greater Louisville Medical Society, Medical Director of Murphy Pain Center, Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and serves on the board of the International Association for Pain and Chemical Dependency. In May 2013 Dr. Murphy earned a Master of Medical Management degree from the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business.