2 Saskatchewan doctors disciplined for handling of opioid prescriptions
Lack of education around prescribing of opioids, says college of physicians and surgeons
Two doctors who worked in Moose Jaw, Sask., have received one-month suspensions for their handling of prescription drugs.
The Saskatchewan College of Physicians and Surgeons was monitoring the doctors under its prescription review program, which allows the college access to all provincial prescription records written for patients for drugs of possible abuse.
Dr. Leon Jansen Van Rensburg and Dr. Pierre Hugo have been ordered to take a medical record keeping course and prescribing course and pay $3,000 to cover costs related to the investigation.
The discipline hearing was held in Saskatoon last month. The doctors admitted that they engaged in unprofessional conduct.
The college said the doctors failed to meet the standards of prescribing prescription review medications.
In addition, the doctors prescribed medications to patients who were receiving methadone treatment for opioid dependency.
It also found both doctors prescribed medications for patients' who had urine tests show they were not taking their medication and those tests showed marijuana and cocaine in their system.
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More education needed
"It's an issue of very considerable concern," Bryan Salte, the college's associate registar, said of overprescribing opioids.
Salte said best practices around prescribing quantity and length of time for patients to take opioids is relatively new, with guidelines in Canada and the U.S. coming out in the last few years.
"There really has been a lack of education for physicians in what are the risks of opioid prescribing what quantities ought to be prescribed," Salte said.
In this case, Salte said education was not enough, so it moved to the discipline stage.
"Our college is responsible for taking action if this prescribing has not been appropriate."
Later this month, the college is hosting an opioid substitution therapy conference in Saskatoon.
Salte said the college will launch an opioid prescribing program in the fall of 2017.
As for the doctors, Hugo still holds his medical licence and is practicing in Moose Jaw.
Jansen Van Rensburg's licence has been revoked.
The lawyer for both doctors declined comment. CBC reached out to Hugo for comment. It was unable to reach Jansen Van Rensburg.