The federal government has entered into a settlement agreement with Fairfield, Connecticut-based Orthopaedic Specialty Group, P.C. and Lawrence Kirschenbaum, M.D.
Controlled Substances Allegations Cost Connecticut Group $80K
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According to Leonard Boyle, acting United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, the $80,000 settlement resolves allegations that Orthopaedic Specialty Group and Dr. Kirschenbaum violated civil provisions of the Controlled Substances Act.
The Controlled Substances Act has been in effect for 50 years. It places federally regulated substances into one of five schedules based on the substance’s medical use, potential for abuse, and safety or dependence liability. The goal of the Controlled Substances Act is to create a “closed system” of distribution.
The government alleged that on “40 separate occasions between April 2017 and January 2019, [Dr.] Kirschenbaum’s patients received ‘early fills’ of their prescriptions for controlled substances.” The press release explained that an early fill occurs when a prescription “is filled before the supply provided pursuant to an earlier prescription is or should be exhausted.” The government claimed that “these 40 ‘early fills’ violated the Controlled Substances Act and its implementing regulations.”
In accordance with the settlement agreement, Orthopaedic Specialty Group and Dr. Kirschenbaum have agreed to no longer dispense schedule II controlled substances from Orthopaedic Specialty Group’s offices. Now patients will be required to fill their prescriptions for schedule II controlled substances at pharmacies.
Orthopaedic Specialty Group is the largest orthopedic practice in southern Connecticut. Its 28 physicians and 8 physician assistants serve patients from its 7 locations in Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Monroe, and Shelton. According to its website, Orthopaedic Specialty Group offers musculoskeletal care in the fields of orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, pain management, physiatry, sports medicine, podiatry, and chiropractic.
A graduate of New York Medical College, Dr. Kirschenbaum is board certified in anesthesiology and pain management. He practices out of Orthopaedic Specialty Group’s Fairfield office. According to Orthopaedic Specialty Group’s website, Dr. Kirschenbaum’s specialties include interventional pain management, image guided spinal injections, radiofrequency ablation, spinal cord stimulation, and regenerative medicine.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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