When does your patient care turn into your criminal trial?
That’s the question many physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) and physician assistants (PAs) are asking in the wake of a tidal wave of prosecutions related to pain medicine. This has been partly spurred on by the “opioid epidemic.” There has been a sharp spike in convictions—either by guilty plea or by conviction after a trial—of health care