State officials, doctors and pharmacists are teaming up to combat what they fear could be a drastic spike in drug overdoses now that one of the state’s largest suppliers of a popular anti-addiction drug closed his dozens of treatment centers amid accusations of fraud.
The arrest of Dr. Punyamurtula Kishore on Medicaid fraud charges in September, and the shuttering of his 29 offices, left hundreds and possibly as many as 2,000 recovering addicts without access to Vivitrol. State officials have been scrambling to provide them with alternative sources for the popular anti-addiction medication. Meanwhile, doctors reported being swamped with calls from desperate recovering addicts.
“We got hundreds of phone calls from patients and their parents. They all wanted to know, ‘Can you give me a shot?’ ” said Newton psychiatrist Dr. Natalie Lender.
“It’s always a crisis when the medication you rely on to stay healthy is missing or not so available,” said Hilary Jacobs, deputy director of the state health department’s Bureau of Substance Abuse Services.
She and other officials fear the shuttering of offices could send addicts into a downward spiral — and back onto street drugs. State officials are warning medical professionals to watch for overdoses and urging emergency room workers to keep plenty of addiction-fighting medicines on hand.
Kishore, of Brookline, pleaded not guilty to the fraud charges, and his case is winding through the court system. But his patients were left to fend for themselves, officials said.
In response to the crisis, Lender trained as a Vivitrol provider and opened addiction centers in Quincy and Weymouth. She is seeing patients there for free because health insurers haven’t implemented the billing systems yet.
“The demand is just incredible,” Lender said.
There’s no dispute that the nation is in the throes of an increasingly deadly opiate abuse epidemic. Between 1998 and 2008, there was a 400 percent increase in prescription pill -addicts seeking treatment, federal studies found.
And Kishore’s former patients said losing access to Vivitrol — a relatively new drug that many say has helped them get clean — was terrifying.
“It’s the only thing that worked for me, and believe me, I tried everything,” said Ashley, who asked to be identified only by her first name.
Vivitrol is a form of the drug naltrexone that is injected once a month. Its success lies in its ability to block a person’s ability to get high. Kishore is believed to have been the state’s most prolific Vivitrol provider, but the exact number of people he treated with the drug and their identities is not known due to patient confidentiality restrictions.
