It appears tracking of narcotic prescription drugs is on the rise by police officials. These were 3 different cases in 3 different locations this week. The 4th article here involves a VA physician who didn’t keep adequate and/or fake records to get patients enrolled in drug studies, of which we have been hearing quite a bit of in the news today about the accuracy and how they were conducted, as well completely duped records that were made up for the study reports.
What 3 of the doctors have in common is the fact that they are all over 75 years old, two in their 80s that were involved with over prescribing drugs and now are either facing time in jail and/or fines. The one somewhat startling fact was the physician in Tampa who is 83, was called the top prescriber of narcotics in the state and was pretty much aware that he was being watched. BD 
A Colorado doctor accused of illegally prescribing anti-depressants to a Stanford student who later committed suicide has been convicted of practicing medicine in California without a license.
Christian Hageseth, 76, faces up to a year in county jail, San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Hageseth had entered a surprise no-contest plea to the felony charge on Feb. 24 in San Mateo County Superior Court.
Hageseth prescribed fluoxetine hydrochloride, a generic form of the anti-depressant Prozac, over the Internet to John McKay, a 19-year-old Stanford student and Menlo Park resident in June 2005. Two months later McKay committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, inhaling car-exhaust fumes at his mother's home.
Palo Alto Online : Doctor convicted in Internet prescriptions case
TAMPA — Dr. John Rew prescribed so many painkillers that he believed police were watching him.
He was right.
On Tuesday, federal marshals arrested the 83-year-old doctor, who last year told the St. Petersburg Times that a Drug Enforcement Administration agent had called him the state's top prescriber of narcotic
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/article986795.ece
NEWPORT NEWS - An 82-year-old Newport News doctor pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to unlawfully distributing drugs, in connection with 700 prescriptions he wrote between January 2007 and March 2008.
Dr. Lawrence S. Cowling, who worked as an independent physician at several medical facilities in Newport News, holds a Drug Enforcement Administration registration allowing him to write prescriptions for methadone and other drugs, a U.S. Attorney's Office press statement said.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_doctor_0328mar28,0,1578564.story
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A former upstate New York cancer specialist who failed to keep accurate case histories on patients in drug studies has been sentenced to pay more than $500,000 in fines and restitution and serve five years probation.
Dr. James Holland was fired from the Stratton VA Medical Center in 2003 along with researcher Paul Kornak. He pleaded guilty in 2007 to federal charges he failed to establish and maintain adequate records and allowed patients to be improperly enrolled in the drug experiments.
http://www.wten.com/Global/story.asp?S=10084686
0 comments :
Post a Comment