Not unless negligence can be proven. I only glanced at the article- this is something I've researched and written about repeatedly. The physician has an obligation to educate his patients on the effects of opiates, including addiction and tolerance levels. People can become addicted without realizing it. Those who use it to treat chronic pain build up tolerance. Over time, they need more and more of it to get the same effect. And, doctors should make this clear. They should also monitor the doses and have frank discussions with patients about changing medications or trying alternate options when their need starts growing. I also think physicians should be providing their patients with info about the signs of overdose as well as a prescription for naloxone and they should be encouraged to talk to their families and friends about what the symptoms of overdose are and how to use naloxone in the event of an overdose. For those unfamiliar, naloxone is a drug that works instantly and blocks the overdose. If it's given right away, the person will almost always live. That's not always true if first responders arrive later or if they don't realize it's an overdose or what the person is overdosing on. That's why this is a two-pronged strategy. Get naloxone in the hands of the people who may need it and teach them what to look for- just like we do with CPR.
To be blunt, people who die from opiates are by and large prescription users nowadays. And, they either misunderstand their prescription or their doctor pulls them off it and they go to street drugs as a replacement. With the prescription, even measured doses are dangerous. Take the person who has built up a tolerance, for example. Let's say he's now at twice his original dose and he becomes sick, feels great, or changes up his routine and misses a couple doses. Any of these things can reduce his tolerance. He goes back to his normal dose- boom. It's now a toxic level for his body and he overdoses. The person who moves to street drugs is also in danger because they're obviously not regulated or really measurable. Maybe that user will get an especially potent batch or take too much because he can't measure the dose. Another overdose. Sure, the physician isn't "at fault" in either of these cases, but maybe if the doctor had open dialogue with his patients and warned them about the potential dangers, the deaths could have been prevented. And, maybe the doctor in both cases did talk to the patient. Getting a patient off opiates seems like it's the responsible thing to do when you realize they're hooked, but there's so much shame associated with addiction that a lot of patients won't speak up, even if they realize they have a problem. Again, that's why we need a different mentality about prescribing. People need to know that it's not really their "fault" when they build up tolerance or become addicted. That's expected. They should be trained to listen to their bodies and to talk with their doctors when it happens- it's not a matter of if it happens. It's when.
Proving negligence is very difficult. I'd much rather get away from blaming people for it because that stops people from wanting to solve it. Sure, in extreme cases, when negligence can be proven, we should prosecute, but I think the better goal is education and moving to a different model.
The physicians that are, basically, scripting these drugs for fun and profit should be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law. But I'm guessing that those are very much in the minority.
There are several BIG problems with using opioids for pain management though. First, there's no objective way to measure pain in the human body. Second, not every patient reacts to a given drug in the same way. For example, Acetaminophen / Hydrocodone is only slightly less effective on me than peanut M&M's. On the other hand a 1/2-dose of Acetaminophen / Oxycodone (3.5 - 5-mg of the "good part") will usually take the edge off any pain I'm feeling.
So if the doctor is prescribing within the statistically normal dosage range for a given drug then they're doing nothing wrong. If the patent appears to be developing resistance, or the drug appears to be ineffective then the doctor should try a different drug. Of the patient is trying to scam the doctor lr the system because they're likely "hooked" or trying to sell for a profit.
Not unless they are simply following the doctor's dosage. But I think that going to doctors they need to take responsibility. And know very well that with doctors come drugs and operations.
Benedict Arnold 