Dr. Mark Greenawald, a chairman of the department of family medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and the director of medical student education at Carilion Clinic, supposedly violated standards for prescribing controlled substances to two patients.  He had allegedly improperly prescribed two versions of the sleep drug, Ambien.  Dr. Greenawald is now being required to complete 15 hours of continuing education classes on prescribing controlled substances.

According to a consent agreement between Dr. Greenawald and the board, he prescribed 676 Ambien CR pills and 225 Ambien pills during a 274-day period for just one patient.  That equates to three pills a day.  Apparently, this patient was also getting pills from other doctors.

Dr. Greenawald prescribed another patient 800 Ambien CR pills for a 319-day period.  He informed state investigators that once he realized the frequency of prescriptions, he stopped prescribing the drugs to the patient.

This case is not isolated.
Improper prescribing of drugs is the most common violation that is handled by the board of medicine.  According to Dr. William Harp, executive director of the Virginia Board of Medicine, over the past five years, the board has discovered about 32 violations a year involving prescriptions.

Four other Virginia physicians have recently been found to be in violation of standards by the board, some of which included improper prescribing.  Two of these doctors’ violations were considered to be severe enough to cause them to lose their right to practice medicine.

What happens if you find yourself injured due to medical negligence? Read Virginia medical malpractice attorney Ben Glass’s book, Why Most Medical Malpractice Victims Never Recover a Dime, for more information.

Last November, two doctors who had gained immunity from a lawsuit involving catastrophic birth injuries were administratively punished by the Virginia Board of Medicine.  This situation was the first in 20 years.

Dr. Evelyn Anna Ruelaz of Fairfax County and Dr. Regina Burton of Woodbridge, both received formal reprimands for births that led to lifelong personal injuries to infants during the delivery.  Lee Ann Hershberger told the medical board panel that her son will never be able to care for himself.  Her son’s heart rate slowed and oxygen was shut off to him in utero while she was left unattended for long periods of time by Ruelaz.

These penalties by the medical board showed that birth injury cases were being more heavily scrutinized.  In 2003, changes were made that lowered the threshold for punishment in these types of cases.  Two hundred and nine sanctions were issued in 2006 by the Virginia Board of Medicine among the 34,813 individuals who hold Virginia medical licenses.  Until the two cases in 2008, there had never been reprimands for birth-related cases.

One case involved a Virginia physician, John F. Pholeric, Jr.  According to The Washington Post article, Pholeric struggled on and off with a cocaine addiction, was in and out of rehab and was even convicted of a felony charge.  What was frightening is that at the same time this situation was going on, Pholeric was practicing medicine.  Pholeric admitted to snorting cocaine “three to four times per week” in his office in 1999.  Based on Virginia and District medical board records, he stole drugs from the hospitals in which he worked and also wrote more than 40 fraudulent prescriptions.

What actions were taken by the Virginia Board of Medicine?  The medical board took up Pholeric’s case several times, but never revoked his license to practice.

Pholeric’s situation is not unique.  The Virginia Board of Medicine’s records show that an Arlington ophthalmologist performed cataract surgery under the influence and a Loudoun County gastroenterologist injected himself with his patient’s painkillers.

The executive director of the Virginia Board of Medicine said that when the board is aware of an impaired physician, it will take quick action.  However, he did admit that the system has flaws.