NZ doctors’ drug breaches

Forged prescriptions, self prescribing and inappropriate use of “dependent drugs” are among New Zealand doctors’ breaches for professional misconduct.

The University of Auckland research revealed there were 236 disciplinary cases against doctors between 1997 and 2016.

Of that, 25 cases were of inappropriate prescribing of dependent drugs and each doctor was found guilty of professional misconduct.

Co-researcher Susie Middleton said the low number of cases and the 100 per cent rate of guilty cases suggested discipline is used as the last resort for dealing with drug-dependent doctors.

Further work is needed to understand the barriers and the enablers to reporting by colleagues to understand the extent of the problem in New Zealand and to identify systems that best manage drug dependence in doctors, Middleton said.

However, the Medical Council of New Zealand, which helps regulate doctors and assists with doctors’ health, disputes these claims.

Andrew Connolly, chairman of the Medical Council, said the disciplinary processes for addressing this issue for both the council and the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal have worked well for many years.

“The council is of the view there is no need for change,” Connolly said.

Penalties for this professional misconduct included removing the doctor from the Medical Register, suspending the doctor for up to three years, imposing conditions on practice, costs and a fine up to $30,000.

The 25 cases included forging a colleague’s personal stamp on prescriptions, a doctor giving drugs to a patient with whom they were having a sexual relationship without a prescription, collecting drugs for personal use and prescribing drugs to a patient with addiction issues.

Researchers behind the report pointed out that while the findings gave some insight into the disciplinary consequences of inappropriate prescribing of drugs of dependence in New Zealand, the extent of the problem was unclear.

The study found that most disciplined doctors were men, working in general practice, and had been in practice a long time.

Middleton said it may be that drug-dependent doctors posed a greater risk to themselves than they do to the health and safety of the public.

Few cases, 16 per cent, came to the attention of the authorities via notification from medical colleagues, Middleton said.

“Doctors may be unaware of drug dependence in their midst, unaware of their duty to report, or unwilling to report,” she said.

The researchers argued this issue needed to be taken more seriously.