Virginia Doctor Reprimanded for Prescribing Sleeping Pills
A Virginia doctor just joined the ranks of four other physicians who have recently been found in violation of standards by the Virginia Board of Medicine.
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.