What Happened
A federal grand jury charged a physician who owned and operated a pain clinic in Hamilton, Ohio, in a 114-count indictment arising from an alleged pill-mill operation.
According to the indictment, patients were prescribed fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, morphine and other controlled substances on many occasions without actually being seen by the doctor, and the practice allegedly billed Medicare, Medicaid and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation for medically unnecessary prescriptions At least one patient allegedly died as a result of using the prescribed controlled substances. The physician is also alleged to have received more than $103,000 from a pharmaceutical company for purported speaking engagements about a fentanyl spray that were allegedly sham programs, and the state Board of Pharmacy had opened a joint investigation in October 2016 over concerns about prescribing that did not meet minimum standards of patient care.
What the Record Shows
Federal grand jury indictment: 88 counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, one count of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance with death resulting, eight counts of health care fraud and 17 counts of violating the anti-kickback law. Charges only; no finding or plea reported.
Why It Matters for Diversion Programs
This entry comes from a primary source rather than a federal enforcement release, and it is recorded as reported: Charged by indictment with unlawful distribution of controlled substances: allegedly prescribing fentanyl, oxycodone, methadone, morphine and other controlled substances on many occasions without patients actually being seen by the physician, and billing Medicare, Medicaid and the Bureau of Workers' Compensation for medically unnecessary prescriptions; also alleged to have received payments from a pharmaceutical company for sham speaking engagements about a fentanyl spray.. Board and news records are a lagging indicator - by the time a licensing authority or a reporter learns of a diversion, the diversion was normally detected internally first, which makes each entry a signal that inventory reconciliation, waste observation or dispensing oversight failed earlier.