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June 17, 2010 - The staff at the Hampton Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center is facing serious allegations. Two of its former doctors have alleged the veterans in the medical center are being over prescribed powerful narcotics. The veterans are in turn becoming addicted to those drugs. The symptoms bringing the veterans into the VA in the first place end up going suppressed and/or unchecked.
The doctors' concerns also focus on these narcotics being resold back in their respective communities. According to the doctors, this could end up producing fatal consequences. For 23 years Dr. Pamela Grey had been in private practice before joining the Hampton VA Medical Center. It was not long after that she discovered veterans were being given highly addictive narcotics for months and even years at a time. The patients' charts included none of the following, which would at least explain the prescriptions:
Grey, as well as several other doctors, were stunned at the level of narcotics being used on the veterans. One doctor stated she was told to continue to administer the narcotics, despite knowing she was creating addictions in the veterans. Further, this doctor goes on to say there was no lab work done or urine screenings performed on the patients. Taking it upon herself, she drug tested some of the patients. Some of the patients supposed to have been receiving heavy doses of narcotics gave completely clean urine. This means if the perscriptions were being filled, the veterans were not taking the the medications themselves.
While there is a policy in placed regarding the proper use of narcotics in patient treatment, Gray stated this policy is rarely ever followed at the Hampton VA. Because the VA is federal, they are exempt from the requirement imposed on state agencies to report all filled prescriptions for specific narcotics.
Gray suffered what she believes was a retaliatory firing because she blew the whistle on the hospital. Gray also believes there are many decent doctors who remain at the Hampton VA being compelled to practice unsound medicine for fear of being fired. With the amount of soldiers returning to the states that will require medical attention, this is a dangerous environment in which to risk having them placed.
Soldiers can return home with a number of conditions, injuries, and aggravated preexisting conditions. If you believe you have a service-connected physical or psychological injury you may be entitled to Veterans’ Disability Compensation.
At LaVan and Neidenberg, we are determined to secure veterans their rightful disability compensation and disability rating. We wrote this book for you! In it you will find valuable tips on how to navigate the claims process and avoid common pitfalls. Request your FREE copy today!
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