AN EXAMPLE FOR 'PILL MILL' DOCTORS

News articles about the conviction on Wednesday of a Harlan physician for
prescribing OxyContin and other painkillers by the truckload should be
posted in medical facilities everywhere.

Any doctor, patient or pharmacist who has an itch to commit fraud is on
notice that federal prosecutors will go after those who aid in the abuse of
prescription drugs.

According to testimony at his trial, Dr. Ali Sawaf had turned his office
into a "pill mill," writing painkiller prescriptions for patients after
cursory examinations.

No doubt many of those pills were later sold on the black market to people
who were addicted or who became hooked on narcotics. An untold number of
doses might be traced to the deaths of dozens of people.

Whether Sawaf prescribed those deadly doses or not, he contributed to and
profited from a culture of drug abuse that has destroyed lives and
undermined communities, especially in Eastern Kentucky.

Now he faces a possible sentence of 20 years in prison and $1 million fine.

Sawaf's arrest might not have come about without the assistance of
pharmacists who grew suspicious of his prescription activities and alerted
authorities. Pharmacists' role in acting as a check on dangerous doctors
can't be undervalued.