Thursday, December 9, 2010

Elderly New York Doctor Arrested On Charges Of Distributing Painkillers

 
The DEA is taking an active stance across the country on physicians who prescribe painkillers to patients without medical necessity.  On November 16, 2010, Dr. Felix Lanting, age 83, was arrested on a charge of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone in Grant City, New York. At the time he was arrested, the federal agents also conducted a search warrant.  Charges were filed in the Eastern District of New York.

Dr. Lanting garnered some unwanted attention when he was interviewed in August 2010 by the press  for a story on a state-run database of patients who have had prescriptions filled from multiple sources.
Of his approach with dealing with patients seeking prescriptions, he said: "We take their word and we depend on the pharmacists' computers."

Obviously, that quote is not the standard for physicians in today's world.  Although Dr. Lanting may have been quoted out of context, this was not a great quote for public viewing. We can expect to see an increase in filings against physicians for subscribing painkillers. 


Posted by Tracy Green, Esq. Please email Ms. Green at tgreen@greenassoc.com or call her at 213-233-2260 to schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation.
Any questions or comments  should be directed to Tracy Green, a very experienced California health care fraud attorney, prescription fraud attorney, California DEA lawyer, and California Medical Board attorney at tgreen@greenassoc.com.

The firm focuses its practice on the representation of licensed professionals, individuals and businesses in civil, business, administrative and criminal proceedings. They have a specialty in representing licensed health care providers in California and throughout the country. Their website is: http://www.greenassoc.com/

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