Supreme Court Sets Higher Bar for Prosecuting Doctors Who Prescribe Opioids for Pain

Jeffrey A. SingerToday the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously overturned lower court decisions in the consolidated cases ofRuan vs. United States and Kahn vs. United States. The two physicians were convicted of prescribing opioid pain medicine “outside the usual course of [medical] treatment” and were sentenced to prison.The jury inRuan was not instructed to consider Dr. Xiulu Ruan ’s “good‐​faith defense,” i.e., that he was indeed prescribing the drug “legitimately” to treat pain based upon his good‐​faith assessments of his patients’ medical contexts and requirements. The Eleventh Circuit Appeals Court denied Ruan’s request to vacate the lower court dec ision on the grounds that he was denied a “good faith” defense.The Supreme Court held “the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knowingly or intentionally acted in an unauthorized manner. ” The Cato Institute filed anamicus brief inRuan, as did I,separately, as a private practicing physician along with the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS).While the decision was unanimous, Justice Alito was joined by Justices Thomas and Barrett in filing a separate concurring opinion. I will defer judicial analysis of the two separate opinions to my colleagueTrevor Burrus. Here I offer the perspective of medical doctor in clinical practice.There are always robust debates among clinicians regarding the proper and rational treatment of a&n...

Source: Cato-at-liberty - June 27, 2022 Category: American Health Authors: Jeffrey A. Singer Source Type: blogs