Oklahoma Healthcare Summit Speaker Under Senate and DEA Investigation

Nervous Days for opioid prescription profiteers.

(MYRTLE BEACH, SC) - An organization called "Physicians Liability Insurance Company" (PLICO) is hosting a Healthcare Summit on August 9 and 10, 2013 entitled Explore Oklahoma Healthcare Summit 2013 at the Renaissance, Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel.   http://www.plico-ok.com/

I was interested in PLICO because on Friday, August 9 from 10:30 a.m. to noon, Lynn Webster, MD will be speaking to the attendees of the Summit on the subject of "Preventing Unintentional Overdose Deaths: Eight Prescribing Guidelines."  My interest was peaked because Webster is under US Senate investigation as well as Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) investigation for his alleged participation in the push for opioid prescribing while funded by the pharmaceutical industry -- and deaths at his pain clinic in Utah.  More about that embarrassment to Dr. Webster further in this article.  I was really curious as to who PLICO was and why their choice of Webster as a speaker for their Summit.  http://www.oklahomahealthcaresummit.com/presenters

In 1979, PLICO was formed as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA) and issued its first policy on January 1, 1980.

The PLICO Board consists of Oklahoma physicians who are elected by the OSMA House of Delegates. PLICO is managed, controlled and directed by its physician Board. This structure results in a physician focused company where the policymakers are physician colleagues of the insureds. PLICO has served Oklahoma physicians for more than 30 years. Their only interest is providing a stable and physician friendly professional liability insurance market as well as a comprehensive set of products and services to physicians, medical entities and the employees that serve them.

This information is off their website exclaiming the attributes of their speaker for the August drug summit:

Lynn R. Webster, M.D., F.A.C.P.M., F.A.S.A.M.

Dr. Lynn R. Webster is one of the nation’s leading researchers and experts in the field of prescription drug abuse and overdose deaths. He advocates that all pain therapy be accessible to patients and is safely prescribed by medical professionals, and that patients safely use medications. Dr. Webster has led the country in trying to help physicians safely treat pain patients, and is actively working within the industry to develop safer and more effective therapies for chronic pain and addiction. 

Dr. Webster is President of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (also under U.S. Senate investigation).

Webster and what surely will be his legacy

Also in Webster's well received book directed to the medical profession entitled "Avoiding Opioid Abuse While Managing Pain - A Guide for Practitioners" there is an opioid quote that may have encouraged the medical profession to freely prescribe opioids for long-term use.

It is,

"Opioids offer safe, effective treatment for many chronic pain conditions and pose little risk of addiction for most patients who take them to control pain. However, some patients treated with opioids do display behaviors consistent with addiction."

In an interview following the launch of a DEA investigation into deaths at his Salt Lake City, Utah pain clinic, Webster said "I do not know precisely how many former clinic patients died of an opioid overdose. At most it could be 20. Many of those probably were suicides. I don’t think any of the deaths were for scripts I wrote. They were from staff.”  

Why the "disassociation" from deaths at his pain clinic under DEA investigation?

Dr. Perry Fine

In response to the DEA investigation and potential malpractice lawsuits, Webster's attorney asked another pain specialist, Perry Fine, MD (also under U.S. Senate investigation) to review a number of overdose cases from the clinic.

Perry Fine, MD testified for the defense as an expert in the death of celebrity Anna Nicole Smith. In his testimony, Dr. Fine acknowledged that Ms. Smith took approximately 1,500 painkillers a month -- but according to the "expert" on pain -- "it did not make Smith an addict."

I called PLICO this morning to get some background on their choice of Dr. Webster as a speaker in front of their illustrious organization since Webster has raised the eyes of the DEA and is under investigation by them as well as the U.S. Senate.  I was referred to a Shari Moore, Vice President of Risk Management and left a voice message.  I did not receive a call back from Ms. Moore.

PLICO Board of Directors are shown below.  Maybe they will question the program of the August drug summit as the deaths and addictions continue to mount not only in Oklahoma, but throughout the U.S because of false information that was fed to the medical profession -- possibly by their own.

LP - Listen to my words. Faith, love, laughter and mousebeepers.

Marianne Skolek twitter.com/MarianneSkolek
Investigative Reporter for Salem-News.com on drug epidemic
www.salem-news.com/by_author.php?reporter=Marianne%20Skolek
www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPG1VjD61U&list=UUWoHUEr4ZAbQOfIqtOArjgg&index=6&feature=plcp
judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da12c8394&wit_id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da12c8394-2-1
www.vawd.uscourts.gov/PurdueFrederickCo/default.asp
www.oxydeaths.com908-285-1232

Marianne is a nurse having graduated in 1991 as president of her graduating class. She also has a Paralegal certification. Marianne served on a Community Service Board for the Courier News, a Gannet newspaper in NJ writing articles predominantly regarding AIDS patients and their emotional issues. She was awarded a Community Service Award in 1993 by the Hunterdon County, NJ HIV/AIDS Task Force in recognition of and appreciation for the donated time, energy and love in facilitating a Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS.