On Tuesday, a federal appeals court in Virginia dismissed the conviction of William E. Hurwitz, a physician who was convicted of operating a drug conspiracy and improperly prescribing drugs to his patients in 2004. The appeals court said that jurors in the original case hadn't been allowed to consider whether Hurwitz acted in "good faith" when he prescribed massive quantities of pain pills to some of his patients. "A doctor's good faith in treating his patients is relevant to the jury's determination of whether the doctor acted beyond the bounds of legitimate medical practice," Judge Traxler said in the decision. Many physicians and patient advocates are celebrating the court's decision because it gives physicians more leeway to treat patients suffering from severe pain. As patients become less sensitive to the drugs, doctors must increase their medication in order to give them relief. This can lead to physicians prescribing an above-average number of painkillers. While in this particular instance its hard to believe that it was necessary for Hurwitz to prescribe over half a million pain pills in just 40 months, many physicians are relieved that the court is hesitant to interfere with the doctor's medical decisions. Dr. Hurwitz will be granted a new trial.
For more about the pain management debate:
- read this Article
PLUS: Check out this post by Maia Szalavitz to read some deeper analysis of how this case affects providers. She's relieved that pain management doctors can't be charged as drug dealers. Blog