I don’t need a work excuse

This past Monday was a typical busy Monday in the emergency room; I was literally running from room to room taking care of patients. Just when I would begin to think I was getting caught up and getting things under control the paramedics would bring in a patient in who had low blood sugar and was actively seizing or someone in severe respiratory distress unable to breathe. In the middle of all the insanity that exists in an emergency room on a Monday I hustled into an exam room to evaluate a patient with foot pain. It only took a few minutes to interview this patient, determine he was suffering from an episode of gout, and formulate a treatment plan. Initially when I had been taking his medical history he denied having any medical problems, but when I started to talk about pain medications he admitted that he took vicodin, soma, and xanax daily. I was a bit surprised since this 47 year/old man had just told me he had no medical problems. Upon further questioning he revealed that he was on pain medications for chronic low back pain and degenerative disc disease. Fine. After giving him my lecture on the dangers of chronically using and becoming addicted to these known drugs-of-abuse, I added a strong anti-inflammatory to his regimen to treat his gout. I also recommended that he elevate his foot as much as possible for the next few days and I asked him if he needed a work excuse for 2 days of rest. Imagine my surprise when this 47year/old healthy male with no medical problems except chronic back pain informed me that he didn’t need a work note because he was on disability! He didn’t have to work because some idiot doctor had signed disability paperwork for this individual who was perfectly healthy. During my exam he had no evidence of back pain or discomfort, and, other than his current episode of gout, he had no physical impediment whatsoever! Sure he had back surgery, but many people have had back surgery. I had back surgery 20 years ago and I am still working. I never even thought to apply for disability. Unfortunately, during all these years of work I have been contributing tax dollars not only to improve our schools and roads, but also to support this perpetrator of disability fraud and the millions of others like him throughout the country. Today, while schools are closing and teachers are increasingly overburdened with larger class sizes, minimal support staff, and decreasing resources, money that could be improving the education of our future generations is supporting drug-abusers who legally obtain their drugs of choice (soma, vicodin, and xanax) by getting prescriptions from unethical providers and having tax-payers pay for them. Today there are “working-poor” who are struggling to maintain multiple jobs and provide for their families without any health benefits. Throughout their struggles their tax dollars are supporting individuals who are too lazy to work and instead prefer to parasitize society for a free ride. Why are we supporting these individuals? Why aren’t we saying “No, you are not disabled and you need to get a job!” Who do I call do report these fraudulent abusers of our strained social services program? And who is going to curtail the practices of unethical providers who give the individuals prescriptions and sign their disability paperwork for a nominal fee? It’s sad the medical profession has allowed these practitioners to flourish. I only hope that with a better national healthcare registry we can finally track the prescribing practices and drug use of this subset of society who are constantly draining our already scarce resources.