PainScript CMO Dr. Lynn Webster Submits Amicus Brief to Supreme Court

Dr. Lynn Webster, former President of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) and Chief Medical Officer of PainScript, has joined many of his colleagues by submitting an Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court in support of the pain management community and the physicians in the case of Ruan v. United States.

Oral arguments will be heard by the Supreme Court on Tuesday, March 1, 2022. This is a pivotal case for the pain management community. In brief, the facts of this case are as follows:

• Doctors Xiulu Ruan of Alabama and Shakeel Kahn of Wyoming were convicted under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of unlawfully distributing controlled substances (among other charges), each receiving more than 20 years in prison.
• Dr. Ruan, the petitioner in the Supreme Court case, argues that trial courts failed to properly instruct juries on their good faith defenses.
• Under the Federal CSA, licensed prescribers of controlled (scheduled) medications, such as opioids, to treat pain or opioid use disorder may be convicted of unlawful drug distribution if their prescriptions “fall outside the usual course of professional practice.”
• The question before the Supreme Court, on which the federal circuit courts are divided, is whether prescribers may be criminally convicted without regard to whether, in good faith, they “reasonably believed” or “subjectively intended” that their prescriptions were within the usual course of professional practice.
• Dr. Webster and his colleagues argue that to convict a prescriber of drug trafficking, a jury must find beyond a reasonable doubt that the prescriber intentionally prescribed a controlled medication and that they knew at the time the prescription was issued that they were acting contrary to federal law.

Dr. Webster will be attending the upcoming AAPM Annual Meeting, where he will be available for a discussion about this case and its impact, the laws governing pain management, and how to protect you and your practice. He will also explain why telehealth can be an effective tool to provide added protection and automated compliance of your practice as we navigate the laws governing our nation’s healthcare providers.