According to reports Oregon residents may have seen, a doctor has been over-prescribing medication for years in two different states. Officials say that his recent actions are more than simple doctor errors. The most recent investigation into his activities began in 2014 after a pharmacist was cleared of allegations from parents who complained that he refused to fill their prescriptions. As it turns out, the prescriptions the pharmacist refused to fill were from the doctor now in jail on a $200,000 bond.
The doctor is charged with two counts of negligent homicide in the deaths of two patients who died of drug overdose and toxicity. He is also charged with nine counts of criminal endangerment and 388 felony counts for the distribution of dangerous drugs. One person said that the doctor was better than a street dealer when it came to drugs. Supposedly, he had a list of drugs from which patients could choose.
The 43-year-old woman who died was prescribed methadone by the Montana doctor, which her primary physician refused to prescribe because she had once overdosed. The other victim, a 38-year-old woman, died after being prescribed methadone as well. Thousands of pills were prescribed to other patients, which is the why he left Idaho.
Most doctors work diligently to safeguard the health and lives of their patients, but doctor errors can still occur. If the allegations against this doctor are true, this goes well beyond simple negligence. Hopefully, Oregon residents will never come across a doctor like this, but a patient can be given the wrong prescription or the wrong dosage of medication. If a patient suffers adverse effects because of this, a medical malpractice claim could be filed by the victim or the victim’s family if the patient died.
Source: mtstandard.com, “Montana doctor charged in death of 2 patients”, Amy Beth Hanson, Aug. 27, 2015