How's this for news

[Snorebert]

In today's Arizona Republic newspaper, there was an article about a doctor who is accused of writing hundreds of drug prescriptions each Tuesday for money. The real story is at http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... gbust.html but I edited it a bit as I was thinking of the new prescription requirements at CPAP.COM. Warning: this is a joke.

Kingman-area doctor 'dealt CPAP stuff,' feds say
by Ginger Rough - Jul. 14, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic


It only took 58 seconds.

In that time, law-enforcement officials say, an undercover investigator posing as a patient was able to obtain a prescription for the Respironics CPAP device from Dr. Albert Szu Sun Yeh.

That prescription and other evidence helped lead to what federal and state officials call an "off the charts" CPAP bust.

Yeh, 44, of Las Vegas, operated a clinic in a small town outside Kingman just one day a week.

But he managed to write thousands of prescriptions for highly regulated CPAP equipment, officials say, running what amounted to a drive-through for CPAPs.

Yeh was charged Monday with 14 felony counts, for not only improperly prescribing CPAP gear, but also money laundering, conspiracy and assisting in a criminal syndicate.

Yeh's Sleep Wellness Center was open only on Tuesdays. Yet Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and others said Yeh would routinely write more than 100 prescriptions a day during his limited operating hours.

"This man took (the concept) of time efficiency to an entirely new level," Goddard said at an afternoon news conference Monday.

Yeh, who is licensed to practice in both Arizona and Nevada, did not return a message left at his Las Vegas medical practice. He has not had any previous disciplinary actions in either state, medical board records show.

Yeh most often prescribed equipment like CPAPs, BiPAPS, humidifiers and masks, which officials say are widely abused.

Yeh's prescriptions, officials say, flooded the market with powerful CPAPs that could easily be sold to others looking for a quick sleep.

The prescriptions Yeh wrote were filled throughout the state, officials said, including some here in the Valley.

"It's a pretty doggone big case," said CPAPEA Special Agent in Charge Elizabeth Kempshall. "With the volume of CPAPs going out the door, we had to take this guy down."

How it worked
Golden Valley, west of Kingman in Mohave County, is home to 5,000 people. Over the past five years, officials say, the town got some extra visitors every Tuesday, when Yeh opened the doors of his Sleep Wellness Center on Arizona 68.

A steady stream of patients from across Arizona poured through the doors, they say.

Each one left quickly, only to be replaced by another.

Inside, officials say, Yeh was operating what amounted to a pay-for-prescription service.

For $200, a first-time patient could get a CPAP prescription. Returning customers had to pay $75 for a "refill" visit.

"Dr. Yeh did not practice medicine," Kempshall said. "He dealt CPAPs."

Yeh routinely wrote prescriptions for CPAPs heavily regulated under the Controlled Devices Act. These drugs have documented medical uses but carry a high risk of self titration and misuse.

To prescribe those devices, like CPAP or APAP, a physician must take a patient's complete medical history, complete a physical examination and establish the presence of sleep apnea. But on many days, Yeh's patients were in and out in an average of two minutes.

Kempshall's office said the tip that sparked the investigation came from the Kingman Police Department, after an officer there pulled over one of Yeh's patients for a routine traffic violation. Officials declined to be more specific.

Kingman police notified the CPAP Enforcement Administration, and a 12-month investigation, using undercover officers posing as patients, was launched. Representatives from several local police departments and multiple state agencies also participated.

Insurance claims
During the course of the investigation, officials also discovered that Yeh had filed nearly 32,000 claims for insurance reimbursement over the past five years.

That's too many for any physician complying with medical standards, federal officials said.

The affidavit filed against Yeh says that between 2004 and 2009, he submitted nearly $8 million in claims to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. AHCCCS, the state's Medicaid agency, paid Yeh almost $2.5 million in reimbursements for his services. Officials say an additional $1 million was paid to Yeh for other claims submitted to Medicare and private insurers.

A separate, seven-count indictment was filed against Yeh's physician's assistant, Bryan V. Espinosa, 54, of Henderson, Nev.

Law-enforcement agencies have seized more than $3.9 million of Yeh's assets, including bank accounts, investment accounts and real estate, under a warrant issued last week. Yeh is not currently in custody, Goddard's office said.

Yeh has had a license to practice medicine in Arizona since January 2004.

A spokeswoman with the Nevada Attorney General's Office said Monday that her agency has been in contact with Goddard's office but declined to say whether there was a separate investigation under way in that state.

The CPAP bust
The case is the first big bust for the Phoenix CPAPEA's Tactical Diversion Squad, launched in March. The task force was created to investigate prescription CPAP crimes, an issue of growing concern here in Arizona. According to the 2008 Arizona Youth Survey State Report, published by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, more than one in five teens reported abusing CPAPs in their lifetime.

The figure is increasing, from 14.3 percent of those surveyed in 2006 to 22.4 percent in 2008.

In December, the state launched a CPAP monitoring program in an effort to combat the improper use of prescription medications.

The database, which now contains more than 10 million records, tracks every prescription filled for any drug listed on Schedules II, III or IV of the Controlled Devices Act. The records include the patient's name, date of birth and the doctor who wrote the prescription, among other things.

Law-enforcement officials declined to say what role the monitoring program played in their investigation of Yeh. But Dean Wright, the program's director, confirmed that information about the physician's prescribing practices was given to investigating agencies.

Goddard said he hopes the charges against Yeh will serve as a warning to other unscrupulous physicians.

"This is a very important first step," he said. "We don't think he's the only one."

[Kiralynx]

And people like him are why pain management for surgery or cancer is ever more difficult.

[Snorebert]

Kiralynx wrote:
And people like him are why pain management for surgery or cancer is ever more difficult.

You bet Kiralynx!

My wife has been in pain management for several years enduring random checks and being on a very short leash in terms of how many days of medication that she can get at one time. Even to the point of having to map vacations against her medication calendar to make sure that she has enough for the trip.

And we live in Arizona so it most likely will get worse.

The CPAP regs are nowhere near as restrictive. But then again, they certainly don't need to be as restrictive as they are.

-Clark

[twasbrillig]

Thanks for the chuckle, Snorebert!!!

[klockemy]

Ok, first, what the guy was doing was wrong, but on the other hand, they totally made CPAPs out to be as dangerous and sought after as hard drugs and they made us out to be the junkies ("self-titrated and misused").

"C'mon man.....just one more cm/h2o......I need my fix......just one hit!!!"

Regis gives us a 1-up and this guy tears it down, plus some. <sighs>

-------------------------

After another read-through......

CPAPEA?! Are you kidding me? They made a 'task force' for the crack down of CPAPs.....un-real.

"Hey, let's let the hookers and crackheads go and focus on those degenerate hoseheads."

Welcome to the day when they refer to the administration of air (not oxygen), but air as a prescription medication. Better watch out, you will have to have a scrip and pay extra when you fly on a plane with cabin pressure. Speaking of....is the Pilot a doctor and licensed to administer that pressurized air?

And I thought we were good at wasting money in the south with needless road construction......

[Kiralynx]

Kiralynx wrote:
And people like him are why pain management for surgery or cancer is ever more difficult.

You bet Kiralynx!

My wife has been in pain management for several years enduring random checks and being on a very short leash in terms of how many days of medication that she can get at one time. Even to the point of having to map vacations against her medication calendar to make sure that she has enough for the trip.

And we live in Arizona so it most likely will get worse.

The CPAP regs are nowhere near as restrictive. But then again, they certainly don't need to be as restrictive as they are.

Clark,

Your wife (and you) have my sincere thoughts for the pain management issues. I only had to deal with it for about five months after the cancer surgery.

But they were putting a leash on it even 15 years ago. I remember, when a dear friend was dying of ovarian cancer, she was in constant pain. They were giving her minimal pain meds because "she might get addicted." Her husband finally lost his temper and told them they had would deal with a possible addiction IF she survived.

It's absurd that doctors and patients have to be on such leashes. And yet... and yet... we see that there are those who will abuse it.

Darned if I know how one is supposed to abuse CPAP use.

[junie]

Yes they are I'm in pain management also every month going to the Dr for my pain meds. now here the pain
meds. are hard to even get.

[mars]

I did hear a rumour that Elvis was seen queuing outside Dr Yeh's office, but have not been able to confirm.

Mars

[klockemy]

THIS JUST IN!

Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen trying to score Pixie Stix outside a neighborhood convenience store! Three government agencies, a nuclear weapons regiment and 2nd Vice President have been appointed in this crackdown of excessive sugar consumption. Pres. Obama says that continued beligerance in the indulgance of 'sweet things' will require the US to institute martial law and curfews.

[Snorebert]

Klockemy,
You may want to see if the paint thinner is too close to your CPAP intake. You are starting to loose it !!

[klockemy]

Klockemy,
You may want to see if the paint thinner is too close to your CPAP intake. You are starting to loose it !!

Probably not a good idea to keep puting Everclear in my humidifier huh?

Just irritates me to see fed/local govts wasting money on things like that when there are bigger fish to fry. It's also annoying to see people like the "doctor" do something stupid to set back the OSA movement.

[LouC]

And people like him are why pain management for surgery or cancer is ever more difficult.

Absolutely, there's even a purported "manufacturing shortage" on oxycodone (at least here in AZ). I've had to go to four or five pharmacies to find someone to fill mine. I had to quit using the drive thru window. Now I make sure I count the pills at the register. When my script called for 100, I counted 72, in front of the pharmacist. She said they were "rationing" because of the shortage and something about my insurance. OK, then why did you put "100" on the bottle label? Throw in the street value on the black market, and it's easy to see the economic incentives.

Hard to envision anyone selling xPAP machines in alley behind a convenience store though.

[mattman]

Ok, first, what the guy was doing was wrong, but on the other hand, they totally made CPAPs out to be as dangerous and sought after as hard drugs and they made us out to be the junkies ("self-titrated and misused").


CPAPEA?! Are you kidding me? They made a 'task force' for the crack down of CPAPs.....un-real.

"Hey, let's let the hookers and crackheads go and focus on those degenerate hoseheads."

Maybe I'm misunderstanding but from what he posted that whole article is fake, right? I think he made up the whole "news report" didn't he?

It's hard to tell. It's presented like it's a real news report but than at the very end of his post he wrote "This is a joke" which could either mean he's disgusted with the activity or that he made it all up. I tend to think he made it all up based on the content but like I said it's not really presented clearly if this is fiction.

[rested gal]

I edited it a bit as I was thinking of the new prescription requirements at CPAP.COM. Warning: this is a joke.

Well done, Snorebert! Your spoof was a funny read.

[sleepypp]

In reading the original article did anybody notice:

“It only took 58 seconds.

In that time, law-enforcement officials say, an undercover investigator posing as a patient was able to obtain a prescription for the narcotic painkiller Percocet from Dr. Albert Szu Sun Yeh…”

“…Kingman police notified the Drug Enforcement Administration, and a 12-month investigation, using undercover officers posing as patients, was launched…”

Leave it to the DEA to spend 12 months working on something that should have taken no more than a week or two. Your tax dollars at work. I guess that’s the real joke.

Stacy