SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A former Auburn physician has agreed to pay $135,000 in civil penalties as a settlement for overprescribing opioids and other controlled substances in dangerous combinations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Dr. Jang Boo Chi, 82, and his medical practice agreed to the settlement, which resolves allegations that Chi wrote prescriptions for non-legitimate medical purposes, outside his professional practice, in violation of the Controlled Substances Act.
Chi, who practiced internal medicine, allegedly allowed his patients’ desire for drugs to dictate his prescribing decisions instead of his own medical judgment; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District said.
The doctor prescribed opioids, benzodiazepines, and carisoprodol in a dangerous combination known as the “Holy Trinity”; and ignored red flags that the controlled substances he prescribed were being diverted for illicit use, federal officials said.
For example, Chi prescribed hydrocodone-acetaminophen, Diazepam and Carisoprodol (a muscle relaxant) to a patient, even though drug testing indicated the patient was not taking the prescribed medications and was using MDMA (also known as “Molly” or “Ecstasy”), cocaine, and unprescribed oxycodone, officials said.
That patient eventually died of acute intoxication by the combined effects of controlled substances – both prescribed and unprescribed, officials said.
In another case, Chi prescribed to one patient Fentanyl patches, Oxycodone, Percocet, Lorazepam, Lyrica, and Zolpidem, among several other controlled substances, officials said. Another doctor noted when the patient was hospitalized that the person was taking more than 20 drugs. Chi did not reduce the patient’s medications until September 2021, after the DEA questioned his practices, they said.
In another case, Chi prescribed Adderall to a patient when medical records showed there was no basis for doing so. Chi also kept prescribing the drug even when…
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