Nurse Practitioner Suspended For Illegally Prescribing Medications

A nurse practitioner is an advanced level nurse and while they can diagnose and treat medical conditions, order tests and prescribe medications, they have to be careful not to abuse their authority. Sometimes nurses and other licensed professionals take advantage of their license and engage in illegal activities. This can result in license suspension or revocation.

Many licensed medical professionals illegally prescribed medications. That was the case for a nurse practitioner in Oregon. Her actions led to a 12-month probation in addition to a 90-day license suspension. She received her sentence on June 16.

The nurse practitioner was accused of prescribing medications to a co-worker and her spouse. In addition, there were multiple occasions in which she did not properly document prescription refills of controlled substances for several patients.

The licensee became a licensed nurse practitioner in 2017. Shortly after receiving her license she began illegally prescribing medications. Between Sept. 2017 and April 2020, the licensee was employed at a hospital where she was responsible for prescribing Schedule II controlled substances. From November 2017 to February 2020, the nurse practitioner prescribed controlled substances to three patients but there was no medical documentation relating to any of the patients.

Between December 2017 and March 2020, the licensee prescribed controlled substances at least 50 times to a coworker. She also prescribed medications at least 24 times to that co-worker’s spouse. She prescribed controlled substances to the co-worker solely based on that coworker’s self-diagnosis.

Prescription Fraud

While many prescriptions are written for legitimate purposes—such as to manage pain and chronic conditions—many medical professionals abuse their authority to write prescriptions. They may illegally prescribe medications in exchange for money or other benefits.

This conduct constitutes considered criminal prescription drug fraud. It also perpetuates the prescription drug abuse problem we have in the United States. Many people have died from overdosing on legal drugs

While patients are often the ones who forge drug prescriptions, doctors are responsible as well. Here are some characteristics of illegal prescribing from doctors:

• The doctor writes significantly more prescriptions, and in larger quantities, compared to other doctors.
• The doctor writes prescriptions for conflicting drugs, such as stimulants and depressants, at the same time.
• Multiple people try to fill their prescriptions from the same doctor at the same time.
• The patients return too often, with their medications not lasting as long as expected.

Keep Your License With Help From a Tampa Nursing License Lawyer

Nurse Practitioners are authorized to prescribe drugs but with that authority comes much responsibility. Prescribing medications that are not appropriate, for any reason, may subject the Nurse Practitioner to license suspension or revocation.

These types of charges can negatively impact a person’s career. Tampa nursing license lawyer David P. Rankin can assist you with nurse practitioner licensing issues. David Rankin will advocate for you and help you maintain your license. Schedule a consultation by filling out the online form or calling (813) 968-6633.

Resource:

heraldandnews.com/news/local_news/local-nurse-practitioner-suspended-for-doling-out-controlled-substances/article_6d0cf440-b608-5e3e-8117-b86d9a56e414.html