I’m not sure you’re the correct person to contact about the recent article about Dr. George Mathews, but there was no byline. While I realize the article was a press release by the arresting it does not address the fact that many of Dr. Mathews’ patients were funneled to him by their insurance and were not aware of his improprieties regarding billing and prescriptions.
I can speak to this matter as I was a patient of Dr. Mathews for four years, sent to him by my insurance company, Tricare. Never was I approached about paying fees for prescriptions, and, as I had legitimate medical issues requiring pain management, when I would complain that I was under medicated, he would blow me off. When my oncologist requested that he put me on a long term pain reliever, he told me to tell her to go to hell. He was in the process of cutting my medication further when he was arrested.
Obviously, as his former patient, finding a new pain management doctor was almost impossible. I was very lucky in finding a very strict doctor willing to take me on, despite my guilt by association, because I had oncology records. The first thing this new doctor said, upon reviewing my intake forms, was “You are seriously under medicated.”
My point is that not all of Dr. Mathews’ patients were drug-seekers. Some of us were sent there because our insurance company so dictated. We were legitimate pain patients, and yet we were under medicated. Perhaps it was a bid on Mathews’ part to induce us to ask questions and thus fall into the prescription for pay scam he may or may not have had in place.
Once he was arrested, all of us, those with legitimate problems, got no farther with any other pain doctors once Dr. Mathews name was mentioned. I think it would be a valid story to look into those legitimate patients and their struggles to find pain management once the legal axe fell on Dr. Mathews. It would be interesting to look at how Dr. Mathews treated us versus his pay for prescription patients, if they did indeed exist. The main thrust of my point, however, is that legitimate suffers went through hell finding a new doctor willing to even look at them, and I can’t help but wonder how many are still struggling to find adequate care. The story of his arrest and his charges should be balanced with a look at the patients with genuine needs, sent there by insurance or primary care physicians, and the problems that ensued for them following his arrest. The story is one of real human beings caught in a terrible situation through no fault of their own – and what happened to them once Dr. Mathews was arrested. Not everyone wanted access to a pill mill, and they are the ones who paid dearly once he was arrested.
I can’t speak to his billing practices; my EOB from Tricare did not indicate any improprieties. I do know, at the end, he had me pay my co-pay six months in advance, and then two months later he was shut down. I have not been repaid, obviously, for the money I advanced. And I do know that we were given a short list of “Mom and Pop” pharmacies who would fill hi
