New York physician Sudipt Deshmukh, MD, is facing a manslaughter charge in a patient's opioid overdose death, the Rochester Beacon reported March 23.
Dr. Deshmukh, a primary care physician, allegedly prescribed a lethal amount of opioids and other substances to a patient he was aware struggled with addiction.
The patient died in 2015, and Dr. Deshmukh was charged with manslaughter in the second degree, two counts of reckless endangerment in the first degree related to two patients, six counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance for overprescribing high doses of opioids, and healthcare fraud for charging Medicare for the medically unnecessary prescriptions that contributed to his patient's death.
The judge has not released his decision in the trial, which wrapped up March 20, according to the Beacon. Dr. Deshmukh faces a maximum sentence of five to 15 years in prison.
Dr. Deshmukh is the second physician in the state to face a manslaughter charge for a patient's overdose death. George Blatti, MD, 75, a physician in Nassau County, was charged in March 2021 with second-degree murder for his prescription practices, which allegedly led to five patient deaths.
Dr. Blatti allegedly ignored repeated warnings from pharmacists and payers and prescribed large amounts of opioids and other drugs to his patients. He was also charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, which was reduced to reckless homicide.