More doctors placed under microscope for over-prescribing

06/12/2012

To clamp down on doctors who over-prescribe medications to their patients, medical boards have expanded their efforts aimed at disciplining physicians who abuse their privileges as health professionals.<br/><br/>According to American Medical News, medical boards in states like Delaware, Florida and Texas have passed laws that prevent doctors from prescribing their patients with excessive amounts of medicine. So much so that more than 6,000 physicians were disciplined in 2011, up nearly 7 percent from 5,600 in 2010, as reported by the Federation of State Medical Boards. Some of the disciplinary actions include revocation of medical licenses and disallowing doctors from practicing by sentencing them to predetermined probationary periods.<br/><br/>Board officials tell Amed News that the increased number of physicians being cited for over-prescribing likely stems from a variety of factors, but mainly due to better sharing of information as well as more stringent laws that have been implemented in recent years throughout various states.