There is stringent protocol in place in most Pennsylvania hospitals that help doctors and nurses keep patients in need of medication as safe as possible. Long ago, doctors wrote medication orders on pads of paper, and nurses carried out those orders. Nowadays, everything is computerized although digital medication orders are typically read by multiple staff members before a nurse finally dispenses and administers the medical in question. A license board in another state has stepped in and suspended a physician on suspicion that he was either negligently or purposely overdosing patients on fentanyl.
The doctor isn’t the only one facing repercussions because of a situation where more many patients in the same hospital have died over a period of time. All of the patients had been treated by the same doctor. They were all also medicated with fentanyl in addition to other drugs in some cases.
At least 20 other hospital employees have been removed from their positions while an investigation of the deaths is carried out. The employees include nurses and other staff members who may have been working when certain patients were hospitalized and may have either administered their medication or viewed the orders at some point before it was dispensed. The 43-year-old doctor who has been prohibited from practicing medicine had been employed with the hospital for five years.
The Ohio Attorney General made some strong allegations against the physician whose license has been stripped by saying that he believes the doctor was killing patients on purpose. In Pennsylvania and all other states, criminal charges must be filed to prove such allegations, and so far, none have been filed in this case. If a Pennsylvania license board suspends a doctor’s practicing privileges, he or she may seek legal support to discuss what options might be available to build a strong a defense.
