Douglas W. Bouchey, along with three others, plead guilty to distributing 12 million narcotic pills over the internet while in Dubuque, IA in 2003. According to the Morning Sun:
During Bouchey’s plea hearing, he admitted he was a pharmacist employed by a Dubuque, Iowa pharmacy that contracted with Pharmacon to fill Internet drug orders placed through BuyMeds.com. Bouchey plead guilty to conspiring to introduce misbranded prescription drugs into interstate commerce. Prescription drugs distributed without a valid prescription are misbranded under federal law, the statement (US Attorney Press Release) said. Bouchey admitted that the pharmacy shipped the misbranded drugs to BuyMeds.com customers throughout the U.S.
Again, the statement that “[p]rescription drugs distributed without a valid prescription are misbranded under federal law” is questionable at best. This presumes that a valid doctor/patient relationship did not exist between the doctor issuing the prescription and the “patient” at the time the prescription was issued.
It is impossible for anyone to convince me that beyond a reasonable doubt a doctor’s online consultation via an internet pharmacy, after thoroughly reviewing medical records, does not constitute a doctor/patient relationship. Would I feel comfortable with only talking to my doctor over the phone? No. Is it possibly negligent for a doctor to solely conduct online “examinations?” Possibly. But does this constitute a doctor/patient relationship? In my opinion, absolutely! And, as I will present in a series of future posts, many State Medical Boards agree.
The content on this post does not constitute legal advice and is for informational purposes only. You should not act upon the information presented on this website without seeking the advice of legal counsel. Should you wish to speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney knowledgeable in internet pharmacy, prescription, and drug law, please feel free to contact me directly.
Category: Court Cases DEA Doctors Online Consultations Pharmacies Website Owners
