Gabrielsen Discusses New State and Federal Efforts to Curb Prescription Opioid Abuse

Associate Lindsey Gabrielsen is quoted in a Bloomberg BNA Health Law Resource Center article, “Doctors Feel the Pinch of Anti-Opioid Efforts,” about doctors’ efforts to comply with new state and federal limits on prescribing opioids.

Gabrielsen said the new limits can trip up physicians who don’t keep careful track of their prescribing history. “These government initiatives use data mining and data sharing to identify and target those physicians who prescribe more opioids than their peers, making them potential targets for government investigation,” she said.

She said doctors can take a number of practical steps to manage their opioid prescription risks, including taking the time to understand their state’s opioid prescribing laws. Focusing on documentation compliance is critical, she added. “If the government issues an investigatory subpoena for records, prescribers must be able to produce complete patient records containing notes with patient history, examination, and prescription information,” she said.