Dr fined for selfprescribing opioids

A DOCTOR has been fined and censured after he tried to prescribe himself opioids twice while attending a conference at the University of Otago.

The doctor, whose name was not released, prescribed himself the antibiotic Flucloxacillin, the allergy medicine Loratadine and the opioid Tramadol while attending a surgical anatomy course at the university in 2019.

In a recently released decision, the New Zealand Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal reported that after being denied the Tramadol, the man altered a legitimate prescription from a general practitioner in an attempt to get the drug.

He has been a registered medical practitioner since 2017.

The doctor told the Tribunal the Loratadine was to treat his hay fever, and the Flucloxacillin was to treat a flare up of an infection. The Tramadol was to treat an ankle injury.

He was taking supermarket pain killers, but felt they were not managing the pain adequately as he was standing and walking on his feet all day as part of the course he was attending.

The doctor said he went to a pharmacist and asked if he could write his own prescription.

The pharmacist agreed and filled the prescription for the Loratadine and the Flucloxacillin, but denied the Tramadol.

Following the incident, the man visited a general practitioner and was given a legitimate prescription which did not include Tramadol, however after receiving the script he wrote in 50 tablets of 50mg Tramadol.

He then presented it to a different pharmacy, which was suspicious of the script and wanted to double check it with the general practitioner.

The general practitioner contacted the Medical Council regarding the incident.

The doctor admitted to selfprescribing medication in the first instance and to writing in Tramadol on the second prescription, but he did not accept the allegation he knew the pharmacist was likely to believe the Tramadol prescription was from the general practitioner.

Instead he argued that he had added his own prescription to the general practitioner under his own name.

However, when he made the additions he did not include his full name, Medical Council registration number or the correct date for the annotation.

The pharmacist he presented the altered script to gave a different story, which was found by the Medical Tribunal to be more credible.

It concluded the doctor hoped the pharmacist would believe the Tramadol was prescribed legitimately.

The doctor was censured, fined $2500, ordered to pay 35% of the costs of and incidental to the hearing and had conditions placed on his practice for 18 months.