Comments on: Ronald J. Heromin, M.D. & Tampa Bay Wellness Centre

By: ryan

ryan — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:53:25 +0000

Yeah, I’m amazed he is still practicing. Oversight of medical doctors in Florida is really quite disturbing.

Thank you for the insights!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:27:12 +0000

Ugh. I can’t believe they let him out. The DEA website is of no use to other healthcare professionals because I have yet to see anyplace there where one can determine if a doctor’s DEA number is still valid or under some sort of restriction. The Florida Department of Health has a nice, easy-to-use website on which one can look up the Florida license for all sorts of healthcare professionals. As a pharmacist, when I get a prescription, I look up the doctor’s license on that website. If his or her license is clear and active, I usually will just go ahead and fill the prescription unless there is some problem with the prescription itself. The Florida Board of Medicine can easily get the evidence it needs to suspend Heromin’s Florida medical license. They periodically perform routine checks of every medical office in the state. Since the pill mill crackdown has begun, they have been heavily scrutinizing patient records during these routine checks. They will issue an emergency suspension order for a doctor’s license if they see that the doctor is prescribing narcotics without performing the proper physical examination/laboratory tests on the patient. Soon after Heromin was arrested, the Florida Board of Medicine suspended the medical license of Ramiro Abaunza, a doctor whom had shared an office with Heromin at the Hope for Life Wellness Center, for that very reason. Incidentally, Heromin left that office within the last 8 months or so and set up his own office called the St. Mary’s Medical Institute also in Miami. I have found the Hope for Life Wellness Center as a registered pain management clinic on the Florida Department of Health website, but I have been unable to find the St. Mary’s Medical Institute on there at all. Heromin also stopped seeing out-of-state patients, but I think that a doctor in Miami seeing patients from Pensacola might as well be seeing patients from out-of-state. I hope the DEA has the evidence it needs to convict him and put him away when this case goes to trial. However, even if they don’t, I am never filling a prescription, regardless of medication, written by Heromin ever again.

By: ryan

ryan — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:04:37 +0000

Just found a news article mentioning Ronald Heromin’s arrest:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/doctors-facing-federal-prescription-drug-charges-still-free-to-practice/1203218

Apparently he’s out, but can’t prescribe narcotics anymore.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:18:09 +0000

No problem. It is also worth noting that the Florida Board of Medicine still has not suspended his license to practice medicine in the state of Florida. Even though he is in federal custody, I am still seeing his “prescriptions” (written both before and after his arrest) coming into the pharmacy where I work.

By: ryan

ryan — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:53:51 +0000

Very cool! Thanks for the update!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 18:40:05 +0000

I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this blog anymore, but it will likely please many of you, including Ryan, to know that Ronald Heromin was finally arrested by the DEA on October 29th.

By: Alchemist32

Alchemist32 — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 02:28:39 +0000

@Pharmacist
To Pharmacist: Hope you get notified of my comment. You make so much sense, feel like I’m finally reading a post from someone who knows what they’re talking about! I am severely disabled and, like many patients in FL, have been referred out to “pain management” by both my primary and specialists because of the limitations on prescribing controlled substances. I am so naive-have been completely blindsided by this, don’t search online, didn’t even know there was such an enormous problem until I read about it in the Herald.

I’m hoping you could guide me to find the following information: Is there any way to find out which pain management centers are flagged by the pharmaceutical industry? You mentioned several you won’t fill for–(there are some legitimate doctors, right?) I’m guessing it’s up to the pharmacy, but surely the large retail stores have some way of tracking this? I’ve had my medication filled by CVS for 7 years, prescribed by my primary and now, with one month’s supply left, I really don’t know how to proceed. I feel like such a fool having gotten into this mess, I had never heard of Oxycontin or oxycodone before my doctor prescribed it! None of the pain management centers I’ve found so far take insurance, but they assure me that my CVS will fill there prescriptions—any advice you may provide would be most helpful – afraid to post my email online so will check back for your response (or anyone else, especially a professional in the business or a true chronic pain patient who has found a legitimate doctor who knows what he/she is doing and you could share this information — I’m in Miami/S.E. Broward, cannot drive, have to rely on family for transportation. thank you, will be watching for a response…

By: u make me sick

u make me sick — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 23:15:07 +0000

@Angry why not worry about your own life and stay out of everyone else business. I mean some of us actually have chronic pain and cannot walk without our meds Why is it fair that I have to hurt and cannot afford these big time drs and when i found someone to help me you and the same trashy people like yourself had to take it upon yourself to poke and poke and cause problems When I get up and drag myself to the bathroom I think about people like you that cant mind your own business and keep that damn nose out of another persons life I guess you're bored and actually have no life but one day I hope you feel the same shame I do because of a physical condition I was born with that you know how the pain is so bad that you honestly black out and have seizures I hope you know what it is to not be able to walk and be looked at like a circus act and hurt so bad that you feel like ending it all. You only think you know the answers to these problems yes that do occur but not all of us are abusing pain meds by selling them or whatever else they do. I desparately hope you feel my pain one day and if there is a god in heaven, you will be judged for the ugly soul you have without heart and compassion for another person's feelings. I hope you feel the same hate I feel for you and those like you that cant keep yourself out of others affairs and I really wish the same despair you and your twisted kind have caused me.

By: Kevin Reese

Kevin Reese — Sat, 28 May 2011 01:47:10 +0000

In reading this BLOG I find a whole lot of people that are doing nothing more than inhance the state of florida to continue to force 85% of our pharmacies in florida to rase the cost of these meds furthermore to the point where if you are not selling ,diverting in some way that it is nearly impossable for one to afford without INS. ? I find that the same meds ,strenth and quantiy several states away for far less than the outrages prices florida pharmacies are charging? Don’t these guys make plenty of money allready ? and WHO’s side are they on refusing to accept ins to fill certain meds ? Who’s really behind this conspearacy seams like our local goverments forceing the hands of our pharmacies too me? Whats your opinon ?

By: Pharmacist

Pharmacist — Sun, 01 May 2011 18:25:32 +0000

This is just an fyi for anyone that is reading this blog since I just came across it. First of all, do not trust anything on this blog as to who you need to go and see. The first person you should go and see for a pain management clinic is you PHARMACIST. I really don’t care what anywone else says and I’ll give you a good reason why. The pharmacist is the one who is going to fill the medication, so if you go to someone that they don’t trust, you just wasted your money. After that, you check with your primary physician for a referral. When the two of these people are in agreement, then you have a great situation. Next, know your situation and medications. Check out http://www.guideline.gov for your disease state and how it’s supposed to be treated. Pain is pain, but not all pain is the same and not all of it is treated the same. Every time you’re given a medication, your physician should give you a reason why it’s being used, how to take it, what to expect from it, and how long you are supposed to be on it. If it’s an accident that is causing your pain, it’s supposed to get better so you get off of it. Goals need to be established at the beginning and followed through out. Pain scales are the last thing that your dr should be asking you. Red flags for any pharmacist are the standard coctail of roxicodone 15 or 30mg, xanax 2mg, and soma 350mg. If this is your coctail, then you’re going to have problems filling it. If you are on this combo, then talk to your doctor about changing your treatment. If they have issues with that, then you’re not with a valid doctor. There are no studies that show that a muscle relaxer (soma) is warranted for more than 2-3 weeks. This is a temporary medication whose only use is to continue to fuel addiction so get off of it. Even the non addictive ones should only be used short term as there is no medical proof (ie. journals, case reports, or studies) that using it beyond those 2-3 weeks shows any additional improvement. Xanax was also supposed to be a temporary medication. Actually, your SSRI’s like zoloft, celexa, and paxil are better for anxiety than xanax is, especially because it’s once a day as a preventative for anxiety and not a reflex medication plus it’s a lot cheaper and has no addictive or abuse qualities. And now on to roxicodone. If you ever hit a strength of 30 mg you’re always going to be looked upon with scrutiny. This medication was only created to deal with the pain related to cancer. If you don’t have cancer or some other inoperable disease that is terminal, then why were you started on anything other than percocet 5/325? The combination with the tylenol decreases the amount of oxycodone that is needed to produce the same effect. Check with any emergency room doctor and they’ll tell you that they don’t prescribe anything more than the percocet 5/325 for someone that just broke a bone. I’m not saying that you’re a drug addict because you’re on roxicodone 30mg. I’m saying that you’ve been given the medication and your body has become accustomed to it being there so you’ve become dependant/reliant upon it being around. If you’re taking more than 4 per day for sure, you’re not being treated appropriately. The medication lasts 4 hours in the body. That’s 16 of the 24 hours in the day. You are supposed to have a period where you are off the medication because if you aren’t, you don’t know that you’re in pain and don’t think that anything needs to be addressed. Pain is the body’s way of saying that something needs to be fixed so help me. By taking these medications, you’re just masking it and ignoring it and it will never get better. Any doctor that deals with this medication knows (or should I say should know) that when you change the medication to a different one, you start off by converting it to the equivelant dose of the new medication and then cut the dosage in HALF. This is because your body will compensate for it and you’ll be down to a lot less medication than before. Can you believe it? Taking a lot less medication and having the same effect. OMG, WTF? Why didn’t my doctor tell me this? If they haven’t tried to get you to a different medication or strength or extended release form, etc., then they’re only in it for the money. There are clinics out there that don’t even prescribe oxycodone for pain. And their patients do very well without it because it’s never a required medication. Until you fix the problem, it’s never going to go away. This medication was intended for the problems that cannot be fixed, like inoperable cancer. If you’ve read this far, then congrats. Now, I want to ask you the question “What are you doing to make yourself feel less pain?” The opioids do one thing and that is to fake the brain into thinking that you aren’t hurt by not letting the signal get to the brain. If you don’t fix the problem, then yeah, you’re always going to be on it. 90+% of low back pain will resolve within 30 to 60 days as long as you continue to use it. If you don’t use it, then it will atrophy (break down) and will become more painful. Anyone who has pain and doesn’t go for physical therapy plus other aid in helping their pain because their doctor doesn’t tell them to needs to find a new doctor. Oh, and if you smoke, then stop NOW. If you smoke while taking the pain medications, it’s an inhibitor which means that your body won’t be using what you get to it’s full extent which also will keep increasing your dosage AND, it causes the body more pain too. And, if your pain management clinic doesn’t drug test and doesn’t have a pain contract, then it’s not worth paying for your appointment. Those clinics and physicians that are most trusted do all of the above at a minimum in addition to a manditory physical exam at each visit. The other very important thing about filling a prescription for any of these doctors is that they are local. I don’t have a reason to fill a prescription for someone who lives in ohio or kentucky, nor do I have a reason to fill for a doctor 50 miles away from me. If you’ve come this far from your doctor, it means that you’ve checked everyone in between there and me and have been turned away at all those places. Why do you think that I’ll do it when they wouldn’t ? And as for the offices that were discussed in this thread, I will say that I don’t fill prescriptions for the silly shiloh group, john mubang, quality care medical clinic, superior medical, bartlet/brad storey or any office he’s associated with, heromin, padgets clinic, and many others. I hope that this helped.