A nurse practitioner practicing in eastern Idaho was the subject of a federal civil complaint under the Controlled Substances Act. According to the government's complaint, the practitioner wrote hydrocodone prescriptions in the name of a single patient and then gave those prescriptions to a third party, who filled and used them. The government alleged the prescriptions lacked a legitimate medical purpose and were written outside the usual course of professional practice.
Rather than contest the case, the practitioner consented to judgment and admitted to unlawfully prescribing narcotics on more than 15 occasions. The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho entered judgment finding the practitioner civilly liable and ordered a $30,000 fine. Because the matter was resolved by consent judgment in a civil action, no criminal conviction is described in the release.
The matter was investigated jointly by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Idaho Board of Pharmacy and the Idaho Attorney General's Office. The release does not describe how the prescribing pattern first came to light.
In announcing the judgment, the U.S. Attorney said the office would continue to hold prescribers accountable when prescriptions lack a legitimate medical purpose. Court documents are filed under case number 22-CV-00069 in the District of Idaho.