Last Friday a Virginia jury convicted pain doctor William Hurwitz of 16 counts of drug trafficking for prescribing opiates to patients as part of his pain management practice. The jury acquitted Hurwitz on 17 other trafficking counts, and the judge dismissed 12 more, along with five counts of the more serious charge of causing bodily injury or death.
 
Last week's verdict concluded a month-long retrial in Hurwitz's case. He was originally convicted in 2005 on 50 counts and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
 
DPA supported Hurwitz, filing an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in the appeal that led to his retrial. The brief, filed on behalf of pain specialists across the country, argued that Hurwitz' case was a matter for the state medical board rather than a criminal court.
 
"While we are saddened that Dr. Hurwitz was not entirely exonerated, we are heartened that the court and the jury rejected the most outrageous and dangerous claims of the federal prosecutors, which, had they gained traction, would have threatened the entire practice of pain medicine across the country," said Daniel Abrahamson, DPA's Director of Legal Affairs. "Hopefully, the Department of Justice will be chastened by this experience and will not willy-nilly target pain doctors who valiantly fight for their patients' well-being."
 
Review of physician practices and conduct is normally a function reserved for state level regulatory boards, which generally are better equipped than lay jurors to assess the technical clinical and scientific issues raised by such inquiries.
 
Chronic pain is vastly under-treated in the U.S.  Notwithstanding Dr. Hurwitz's conviction, DPA is dedicated to encouraging the appropriate prescription and use of opioid analgesics as a front-line treatment for the treatment of chronic and severe pain, and to working with the treatment community and patients to reduce unnecessary and crippling pain. 
 
Sentencing for Hurwitz will take place in July. He could receive a sentence ranging from time served to 20 years per count.
 
For additional coverage of the case, please see a recent New York Times piece by John Tierney and read his blog.