Here are three lawsuits involving physicians and illegal drug prescription that Becker's has reported on in the last month:
1. Orthopedic surgeon Evangelos Megariotis, MD, admitted to multiple counts of illegally prescribing pain medication to patients. Dr. Megariotis pleaded guilty to seven counts of a 34-count indictment accusing him of illegally prescribing oxycodone, oxycontin, and oxycodone-acetaminophen to five patients.
2. Former Alabama physician Francene Aretha Gayle, MD, pleaded guilty in federal court alongside her wife for her role in a $2.3 million fraud scheme involving illegal opioid prescription. Dr. Gayle and Schara Monique Davis billed payers millions of dollars for patient visits that Dr. Gayle was supposed to have conducted but were instead conducted by other clinic staff.
3. lan Nelson, MD, a physician in East Norwich, N.Y., was ordered to close his practice and surrender his license for illegal opioid prescription. From 2020 to 2021, Dr. Nelson prescribed at least 92,700 milligrams of oxycodone to a patient without a medical purpose.