A physician, a physician assistant and a Berlin, Conn.-based practice paid $300,000 to resolve allegations that prescribed oxycodone and fentanyl to patients that showed signs of drug abuse.
Here are five things to know about the case, according to an Oct. 17 Justice Department news release:
1. The physician assistant, Christopher Norval, owned Multicare Musculoskeletal Medicine and Pain Management Associates, where Steven Shifreen, MD, worked as a physician of general medicine.
2. The men issued 43 prescriptions for oxycodone and fentanyl to six patients who were showing signs of drug abuse or diversion between March 23, 2021, and Feb. 14, 2023.
3. "The government contends that these 43 prescriptions were issued without a legitimate medical purpose and were written outside the usual course of professional practice, in violation of the [Controlled Substances Act]," Vanessa Avery, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, said in the release.
4. The patients were exhibiting signs of potential diversion or drug abuse through "inconsistent urine drug test results," either testing positive for drugs they were not prescribed or not testing positive for substances they were prescribed.
5. Both men surrendered their Drug Enforcement Administration registrations to prescribe controlled substances in March 2023 and will have to wait five years to reapply as a part of the settlement agreement.