Study: Narcotics Charges for Doctors Rare

Doctors seldom face sanctions or criminal charges related to painkillers, a study finds. Researchers used state medical board records from 1998 through 2006. They focused on doctors accused of prescribing narcotics in an illegal or improper way. Some doctors faced criminal charges. In other cases, boards imposed sanctions such as suspending a license. In all, 725 doctors were involved. That’s 1 out of 1,000 U.S. physicians. The study did not include charges by state and local police. The New York Times wrote about the study September 20. It was in the journal Pain Medicine.