This weekly roundup features arrests, criminal proceedings, and other reports alleging improper or questionable conduct by healthcare professionals.
The Ohio Medical Board suspended the license of William Husel, MD, after he was accused of prescribing potentially fatal doses of painkillers to at least 34 near-death patients, all of whom died, when he worked at the Mount Carmel Health System. (Columbus Dispatch)
The case against Insys Pharmaceuticals has turned its attention toward a stripper-turned-Insys executive who, according to court testimony, gave a lap dance at a Chicago nightclub to an Illinois physician suspected of taking over $70,000 in bribes from the company. Before losing his license and being convicted of insurance fraud, an Insys sales rep described the doctor in court documents as running a “very shady pill mill that only accepts cash. He is extremely moody, lazy and inattentive. He basically just shows up to write his name on the prescription pad, if he shows up at all.” (Chicago Tribune, Riverside Brookfield Landmark)
An Oklahoma nurse who was once an employee at the Okmulgee County Jail has become one of its inmates after being charged with two counts of smuggling contraband and conspiracy to help one of the inmates in a planned jail break, according to the county’s district attorney. (News On 6)
Meanwhile in Tennessee, an emergency medicine doctor was sentenced to over 5 years in prison and ordered to pay $3.6 million in restitution for fraudulently billing insurance companies and administering “free” under-the-tongue allergy drops that were not FDA approved for this indication. (Citizen Tribune)
A Sacramento nurse was arrested for allegedly selling more than 20,000 opioid prescriptions on the dark web under the name “farmacy41,” often through Bitcoin transactions. (CBS Sacramento)
A South Carolina physician serving jail for illegally distributing hydrocodone had another 3.5 years tacked on to his sentence after evidence showed he had attempted to exchange some of these prescriptions for sex. (The State)
After using the identities of two dead patients to fuel his opioid addiction, an upstate New York pain doctor pleaded guilty to identity theft and obtaining controlled substances through fraud. The Drug Enforcement Administration says that after they died, he had dozens of prescriptions filled under their names at a Florida pharmacy and shipped to his home and office.
A California medical board ordered that the license of a Hollywood-based doctor be revoked after he prescribed marijuana cookies to a 4-year-old boy who was brought in for temper tantrums. The board said it was unclear whether this alone violated standard care, but they called his “probable” diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and bipolar disorder without consulting a psychiatrist and doing other due diligence “grossly negligent.” (LA Times)
An Atlanta-area physician known as “Dr. Johnny” was arrested and accused of illegally writing opioid and amphetamine prescriptions at bars and restaurants to non-patients who came in from over 10 different states. (11 Alive)
Source: MedicalNewsToday.com
