Dr Alevtina Petrovna Khorinyak prescribed tramadol to a terminally ill friend, after his local pharmacy had run out of the drug.
In Russia it is illegal for a doctor to prescribe medication to a patient not resident in the area of their polyclinic. Dr Khorinyak was found guilty of “forgery of documents in order to facilitate the commission of another crime” and “trafficking potent substances in large quantities by prior agreement with the intent to sell as an organized group.”
The international palliative care community has raised their voices in support of Dr Khorinyak. Writing for the EAPC blog, Adri Nieuwhof, a human rights advocate from Switzerland said: “Instead of prosecuting Dr Khorinyak, the Russian Federation should invest in designing new regulations that ensure that controlled medicines are made available for patients with severe pain.”
Read more about Dr Khorinyak’s case on the EAPC blog.
Leave a Reply