The state has suspended a doctor's license after investigators linked the overdose deaths of at least six patients to drugs he had prescribed, including the much-abused painkiller OxyContin. (...) A receptionist at the Magnolia Medical Clinic, where Merrill practiced in this Florida Panhandle town about 60 miles southeast of Tallahassee, said she did not know how to reach him. His home telephone is unlisted. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the overdose deaths of about 10 of Merrill's patients. FDLE agents say drugs he prescribed contributed to at least six of those deaths, according to the suspension order. (...) Addicts have found they can get a heroin-like high by crushing the pills so they can be snorted or mixed with water and injected.
Earlier, another Florida physician had been convicted of manslaughter for prescribing OxyContin. Serious stuff.
I do believe, that patients share some of the blame, too. Often, they pressure doctors into prescribing more drugs than they need. Doctors should not let themselves get manipulated, but with many doctor-patient relationships being more like that of an old family friend, it might sometimes not be easy to put one's foot down and tell them to enter rehab for drug abuse.
