Questions surround response to Prince
Marin physician sent his son to Minnesota with addiction drug
Was a Marin County doctor acting legally when he sent his son to Prince’s home with a drug often used to treat people addicted to opiates such as prescription painkillers?
Dr. Howard Kornfeld may have been trying to help, but he was not licensed to practice medicine in Minnesota and was not registered to care for patients there via telemedicine, as the state requires. His son, Andrew Kornfeld, who has been described as a pre-med student, was not a licensed prescriber.
The pair may need to rely on loopholes and broad, generous readings of federal and state laws to justify why the younger Kornfeld carried buprenorphine to Minnesota on an April 20 redeye flight. Attorneys and physicians have described the action as unusual and even absurd.
Dozens of doctors are authorized to prescribe buprenorphine in Minnesota, so it’s unclear why Kornfeld felt he needed to send his son with the drug, which is used to ease withdrawal and cravings.
The Kornfelds did not respond to several messages this week from The Associated Press. No one has suggested that Prince took the buprenorphine provided by them. Their attorney, William Mauzy, has said that he believes Andrew Kornfeld — who placed the 911 call when Prince was found unresponsive at his home — is protected from any charges by a Minnesota law that generally shields anyone seeking medical assistance for a person overdosing on drugs.
Regulators in Minnesota have several ways they could approach the situation. Minnesota’s medical board has jurisdiction to investigate someone who practices medicine without a state license or a telemedicine registration.
Dr. Kornfeld did not have either, said Ruth Martinez, executive director of the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice. Martinez said she could not comment on whether the board is investigating Kornfeld’s actions or whether it has received a complaint.
The Minnesota telemedicine law has an exemption for “an emergency medical condition,” but it’s questionable whether that would be enough to cover a situation in which a doctor without a Minnesota license sent a Schedule III controlled substance across state lines with a person who was not a physician.