Pain specialists in northwest Indiana are considering how to protect themselves amid the nation's growing opioid abuse epidemic following the July death of a doctor who was allegedly killed by a man after not prescribing opioids to the man's wife.
Munster pain specialist Dr. Shaun Kondamuri tells the Northwest Indiana Times that pain doctors are facing a heightened chance of encountering unhappy patients because doctors are being encouraged to prescribe fewer painkillers.
A new Indiana law limits new painkiller prescriptions to seven days. Physicians in the state are also encouraged to administer drug tests to painkiller patients to make sure they're properly using the medications.
Prosecutors say Dr. Todd Graham was shot on July 27 after declining to prescribe highly addictive opioids to the wife of 48-year-old Michael Jarvis.