Mike Bloomberg now wants to restrict prescription drugs in ERs for some reason
Under the new city policy, most public hospital patients will no longer be able to get more than three days’ worth of narcotic painkillers like Vicodin and Percocet. Long-acting painkillers, including OxyContin, a familiar remedy for chronic backache and arthritis, as well as Fentanyl patches and methadone, will not be dispensed at all. And lost, stolen or destroyed prescriptions will not be refilled.
City officials said the policy was aimed at reducing the growing dependency on painkillers and preventing excess amounts of drugs from being taken out of medicine chests and sold on the street or abused by teenagers and others who want to get high.
“Abuse of prescription painkillers in our city has increased alarmingly,” Mr. Bloomberg said in announcing the new policy at Elmhurst Hospital Center, a public hospital in Queens.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Yeah…harm a lot of good people because of a few bad people.
Typical Bloomberg.
New Yorkers…you should be just so ashamed of yourselves for giving this asshat a third term. He’s is a perfect example of why Term Limits are a Good Thing.
ProfShadow on January 11, 2013 at 8:04 AM
Yeah…harm a lot of good people because of a few bad people.
Typical Bloomberg.
New Yorkers…you should be just so ashamed of yourselves for giving this control freak a third term. He’s is a perfect example of why Term Limits are a Good Thing.
ProfShadow on January 11, 2013 at 8:05 AM
Which is the bigger pain – arthritis or nanny-state Bloomberg?
OldEnglish on January 11, 2013 at 8:06 AM
Such liberal compassion /
bernzright777 on January 11, 2013 at 8:11 AM
Does he have any background in this, aside from being a dope?
SagebrushPuppet on January 11, 2013 at 8:12 AM
This should do wonders for ER crowding.
Should be no problem for the patients though because everyone can get an appointment with a family Dr within 3 days right? It’s no problem for Bloomburg,so why should it be for the plebes? And access will surely get even better as Obamacare metastasizes throughout the system.
forest on January 11, 2013 at 8:14 AM
Rather than having the city government dictate rules like this, how about hospitals’ quietly File 13ing patient sat surveys that mention pain meds with ER docs, and trusting the doctors they hired were using their discretion to deny the pain medication to patients they suspected of actually being junkies?
Sekhmet on January 11, 2013 at 8:23 AM
We are already one of the worst places in the world for chronic and severe pain management with doctors afraid to treat the pain properly for fear of the DEA.
Doctors aren’t going into pain management for that very reason.
Now this. Idiots!
LifeTrek on January 11, 2013 at 8:25 AM
Ha! You’re just a doctor. Don’t you know that a billionaire dwarf from Manhattan is far more qualified to tell you and everyone else how to run their lives and professions?
RadClown on January 11, 2013 at 8:29 AM
Can Sarah Palin say, “I told you so.” now? I think so.
kingsjester on January 11, 2013 at 8:31 AM
ROFL
This little dude is playing out his Napoleon complex to the hilt.
Bishop on January 11, 2013 at 8:31 AM
Forward! Utopia is within our reach!
visions on January 11, 2013 at 8:56 AM
Though there is a problem. Or was a problem. I don’t know if it’s changed, but at one time, if you turned up in the ER and declared, “I am in pain,” they were obliged to give you painkillers. Not a judgment call; they were obliged, even against their best judgment. I think the law was a response to an earlier crackdown that left too many legitimately sick people in pain.
In other words, laws make for lousy medicine.
S. Weasel on January 11, 2013 at 8:59 AM
This pocket Hitler is now the Chief Medical Officer of NYC? Awesome.
I can’t wait until he takes on a military rank. Field Marshall von Bloomberg FTW.
CorporatePiggy on January 11, 2013 at 9:07 AM
I knew this was going to happen.
We keep hearing more and more stories about addiction to pain pills.. so I knew it was just a matter of time before pain pills become the next enemy. Because some people abuse them, everyone must lose them.
Tell you what… if Bloomberg needed pain pills don’t think for a moment he would be denied them. He and all the rest of the elites will continue to get whatever they desire as soon as they desire it for as long as they desire it.
Pain pills for me, but not for thee.
My wife is an RN. She’s been telling me that basic medications that were always easily available.. cancer fighting drugs, etc., medications no one ever gave a second thought about… are now in very short supply.
JellyToast on January 11, 2013 at 9:17 AM
What are you talking about? NYC has a limit to his term. They just waived the law for him to run again.
Flange on January 11, 2013 at 9:22 AM
Hey Bloomie, I’m an ED doc…how ’bout you let me decide how much medicine my patients need, and for how long, and you just handle being the sh*ttiest mayor in the U.S., mmmmkay?
Wikalista on January 11, 2013 at 9:25 AM
Obama says you can “just take a pill”
Mayor for Life Mike says “No you can’t.”
Wander on January 11, 2013 at 9:32 AM
Liberal rule for everyday living. If someone abuses something then no one is allowed to have them.
chemman on January 11, 2013 at 10:42 AM
I look forward to the day when people have had enough of this guy.
trigon on January 11, 2013 at 11:14 AM