The more than professional relations between physicians and drug companies have long been put under the scanner even in the Western countries. What highly successful and specialist doctors have indulged in can be coined as 'malprescription' in exchange for euphemistically called medical excursions or other rewards.

Finally, with regards to the rise in opioid addiction, the concern was whether the Act sufficiently addresses the malprescription of opioids by licensed physicians. The work group was informed of the Medical Board’s longstanding awareness of the rise in opioid addiction, as well as its educational and outreach efforts to combat opioid malprescription.

If the patient is receiving the medication by prescription (ie, sanctioned use), however, then the issue may actually be malprescription rather than abuse, and the onus of responsibility shifts in part from the patient to the physician.