Yesterday I introduced you to an ignorant and judgmental acupuncturist who I recommend you NEVER seek treatment from. In keeping with that theme, today I would like you to meet Rheumatologist Dr. Stephen Plotnick. Consider this my public service announcement to steer clear of him as well.
From TheDailyPress.com
NEWPORT NEWS — A Virginia Beach doctor whose medical license was suspended last year after five patients in his care died is now teaching in Newport News.
Rheumatologist Dr. Stephen Plotnick had his medical license suspended for 24 months in August 2008, and is teaching an anatomy and physiology course at Medical Careers Institute in Newport News, the School of Health Science at ECPI College of Technology.
Plotnick’s license was suspended after at least five of the patients he was treating for fibromyalgia died. The legal order between Plotnick and the Virginia Board of Medicine said Plotnick refilled prescriptions without examining patients and failed to insist, in some cases, on protections that are standard with the prescribed narcotics.
The Virginia Board of Medicine’s findings also state that Plotnick let some patients “guide (their) own medication selection,” prescribing more than one drug and letting patients decide which to take and how much. In several cases, he kept prescribing the narcotics after patients, their families and other doctors complained that they were overmedicated or having problems with the medication, according to board documents.
If you want to read the full story click on the link above. Another bullet dodged. You’re welcome!
23/30
Sounds just like my doctor. Seriously. But my primary care doctor recommended him when I decided to go after disability retirement. He did an excellent job with that.
But he’s an interesting one. He’s really highly recommended online as well. Go figure, because pretty much anything I want to try, he’s game. Except for Xyrem. He’s funny about how clear he steers from that!
For the record, I’m on long-acting narcotics. And muscle relaxers. And a few others but I don’t want to get hammered (via comments) for my drug usage. My system doesn’t seem to tolerate any of the multitude of other drugs the doctors have all tried. So I do what I have to do to stay mobile.
Oh and also for the record…my choices were him and…him. No one else wants to treat fibro up here in Seattle. And especially someone who wants to go out on disability. Well, nobody that is covered by insurance. Pretty amazing.
Once things calm down (selling house, moving etc.) the plan is to go drug free! What is going to be interesting is finding some place that will dispose of all those drugs I have locked up in a cabinet. Remember all the drugs they tried on me? Still have partial containers of I’d say a good two dozen prescriptions.
Kathy I too take the occasional vicodine for my pain. I was not happy with the post title when I wrote it. My brain was not working and I just wanted to be done with it.
So now I have changed the title from “Another Reason to Avoid Narcotics” (which made no sense and was not what the post was about) to “Another Careless Doctor to Avoid,” which clearly makes more sense.
Thank you again!
Good luck with the move.
Careless? Yeah, I think that’s a good word for it. Doctors appear to be in three camps. 1) I’m not dealing with fibromyalgia, go somewhere else 2) We’ll try all the antidepressants on you and I will give you 12 months of refills…don’t come back and 3) careless. At least that’s what I’ve run into.
That’s with the exception of my first primary care doc. Actually she’s a nurse practioner and all her colleagues hassled her for dealing with fibro patients. But her sister had it, so she was damned if she was going to give us up. She quit, though. Gave up and went to urgent care. It just got to be too much. I don’t blame her at all, and who do you think I went to go see after my car accident? I found which urgent care she was at and went there!
I think people, like the accupuncturist you wrote about, have the stereotype that people with fibromyalgia are needy and are attention seekers. I know my first two years with my primary care doc…I was about to drive her staff nuts! But she was patient with me and we worked through it (it was at her office that I had the panic attack). Now I go in maybe once every three months to see ‘careless’ as he writes out the scripts for my narcotics in advance. An absolute no-no, I think.
I’m really curious…is my assessment of doctors correct? Do they fall within those stereotypes? Anybody want to chime in on that? (sorry for hogging your blog, FH. I’ll get my own eventually!)