Ten Nova Scotia doctors probed for unusual prescribing of addictive opioids
HALIFAX — Ten Nova Scotia doctors are being investigated for irregularities in their prescribing practices for highly addictive opioids, as a monitoring system documents over 5,000 patients receiving dosages higher than recommended levels.
The complaints were forwarded by the province’s prescription monitoring system to the College of Physicians and Surgeons between Jan. 1, 2015, and last week, and include prescribing problems with painkillers ranging from fentanyl to oxycodone.
Kevin Lynch, the director of the monitoring program, said complaints are based both on reports from the public and a “risk scoring report” from a database that monitors doctors’ prescribing practices.
The “risk scoring report” system was launched in 2015, and Lynch says in an email there have been more reviews since that system came into being.