Recently, a sentence was given to a former doctor in a prescription crimes case in Pennsylvania.
The former doctor in question is a 57-year-old man from Harrisburg who was a cardiologist.
The man was accused of having provided a woman with blank prescriptions in exchange for money. These blank prescriptions purportedly ended up being used in a prescription forging scheme that involved the illegal buying and selling of oxycodone.
Charges were brought against the man in connection to these allegations. Prior to the charges being brought, the man surrendered his medical license.
The man ultimately pled guilty in this case. According to a representative of the man, the selling of the prescriptions was driven by problems the man developed due to a Parkinson’s medication he was taking.
The man was recently sentenced in the case. He was given 22 months of house arrest and a large fine.
As this case shows, being accused of having committed prescription crimes can lead to a doctor facing criminal punishments and can have license-related impacts on a doctor.
In this case, the man decided to surrender his medical license. Sometimes, however, the fate of the license of a doctor who has been accused of prescription crimes ends up being decided in a licensing hearing. What actions a doctor takes during such a hearing and during state investigations leading up to a hearing can be incredibly impactful. Thus, having an experienced physician license defense attorney on one’s side to provide advice and guidance can be very important for a doctor who is the subject of such a hearing or such investigations.
Source: The York Dispatch, “Former Hershey doctor gets house arrest in prescription forgery case,” Erin James, Dec. 31, 2013
