Southern California Doctor Suspected of Prescription Drug Dealing
Dr. Lisa Tseng, an osteopathic doctor who practices in Rowland Heights, California, is under fire from state and federal drug administration authorities over the way she prescribes dangerous and addictive narcotics to patients. Officials claim that as many as six prescription drug overdose deaths can be directly linked to drugs that Tseng prescribed. While expressing regret at the loss of life, Tseng believes that patients themselves are to blame for not taking the drugs as prescribed.
The case brings up challenging questions about the proper method of conducting a patient exam to identify addictive or drug-seeking behavior, how and when to prescribe drugs for new and existing patients, and whether a doctor has a duty to ensure that a patient complies with dosage instructions. Unlike when apprehending a drug dealer on the streets, where evidence of criminal activity is relatively obvious, law enforcement officials encounter obstacles when trying to build a criminal case against a doctor for negligence or intentional wronging in writing prescriptions. Given that much of the information doctors rely on to determine the proper course of treatment is actually communicated directly by the patient, holding doctors liable for abuse and misuse of prescription drugs continues to be a gray area of the law.
Dr. Tseng, age forty, is a graduate of Michigan State University. She received an osteopathic degree from its College of Human Medicine in 1996. Despite claims that she is responsible for the deaths of several of her patients, Dr. Tseng’s license to practice medicine in the State of California remains active; she has had no malpractice judgments against her and has not yet been charged with any crimes. However, officials now must determine whether Tseng is a medical professional or a prescription drug dealer, not such an easy task.
Unbeknownst to Dr. Tseng, the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) embarked on a three-year investigation of her prescription-writing practices after receiving several complaints from pharmacists and loved ones of her patients. At the conclusion of the investigation, investigators determined that Dr. Tseng poses an imminent danger to public health and safety and they are in the process of initiating criminal proceedings against her. As a result, the DEA terminated her ability to prescribe addictive drugs, such as OxyContin, indefinitely. After going public with Dr. Tseng’s case, law enforcement officials have received additional complaints from parents who claim that their kids overdosed on drugs prescribed by Dr. Tseng.
Tseng has been forthcoming about the way she practices medicine and claims that she receives complaints from parents of her patients daily. Tseng claims that these parents call her names, such as “drug doctor”. However, Tseng strongly defends herself and her prescription-writing practices, claiming that she prescribes meds based on what patients tell her their symptoms are and what she is able to discern from a physical exam. New patients pose particular difficulties, Tseng claims, as she has no way of knowing whether or not they are telling the truth. Instead of acknowledging her role in the deaths of several young people under her care, Tseng blames the patients for not precisely following her dosing instructions.
Government officials, however, claim that Tseng is prescribing dangerous narcotics, such as OxyContin, without evidence that a patient has a bona fide need for the drug. Under the law, a physician can prescribe addictive painkillers, anti-anxiety drugs, and sleep aids after she has diagnosed the patient and determined that the drug will help alleviate the symptoms or the medical problem. The law does require, however, that the doctor conduct a physical evaluation and keep detailed medical records.
If carried out correctly, medical authorities claim that a physical and history-taking should help doctors identify addicts who are doctor shopping in order to obtain a new supply of drugs. Among the things that should warn the doctor that a patient is drug seeking are patients who are willing to travel a long way for a medical appointment; those who already know what they need and take it upon themselves to ask for a specific medication; and patients who claim that they “lost” their current bottle of pills. Another indictor of addiction, although not necessarily something a doctor would be aware of, is when a patient fills narcotic prescriptions at different pharmacies (in order to avoid detection).
Tseng readily admits that several of her patients drove long distances for an appointment with her but says that when she questioned them, they indicated that they had been referred by her other patients. Tseng believed that a personal referral was a plausible reason for someone to drive incredibly long distances to be seen for a bad back.
Although she suspected that some of the patients she was treating were using her to obtain prescription drugs that were not clinically indicated, the first real alarm started to sound when she became aware that pharmacies where questioning her prescriptions or even declining to fill her prescriptions. Combined with the public outcry surrounding the recent overdoses of high-profile celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Corey Haim in 2009, this negative feedback from pharmacies prompted Tseng to cease prescribing OxyContin. For her part, Tseng feels that her refusal to write prescriptions for OxyContin successfully deterred drug seekers from continuing to come to see her.
The Patients of Dr. Tseng and Their Stories
Sadly, for those with legitimate chronic or acute pain, the ease with which patients can transform from a legitimate user of prescription pain medication to a prescription drug addict is horrifyingly easy. These drugs are so powerful that those pre-disposed to compulsive or addictive behaviors need to be monitored closely in order to prevent addiction from taking hold. When allowed to progress unchecked, however, prescription drug addiction can turn deadly. Dr. Lisa Tseng has discovered this the hard way.
Tseng is a general practitioner in Los Angeles County whose patient roster inexplicably includes people from as far away as south Orange County, Palm Springs, and beyond. Many of her patients are young white males in their early 20’s.
In December 2009, twenty-one year old Arizona State University student Joey Rovera and a couple of friends from school drove from Arizona to Tseng’s medical clinic located in a mini-mall just off the 60 Freeway in Roland Heights; Tseng wrote several prescriptions for the men. Just over a week later, Rovera died of a drug overdose.
Rovera was not the first patient to die while under Dr. Tseng’s care. Since 2007, at least six young men have died of drug overdoses after visiting Dr. Tseng. Two additional young men died after obtaining prescription drugs from other patients of Dr. Tseng. Officials now believe that these “patients” were drug dealers. The victims were all athletic, had a history of playing sports from an early age and came from good homes and loving families. Unfortunately, these young men also had a history of experimental drug use. Some had become full-blown addicts, causing sporting injuries in order to obtain prescription-grade painkillers.
Dr. Tseng was known throughout the southwest for being a medical practitioner who did not inquire too deeply into the veracity of a patient’s claim of chronic or acute pain, anxiety, or sleep problems. She readily prescribed painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin, as well as muscle relaxers, anti-anxiety meds, and sleep aids such as Soma and Xanax. All of these medications are known for their addictive properties and are largely responsible for the recent increase in prescription drug-related addiction and overdoses in teen and young adults.
Another of Tseng’s patients, Matthew, was a dirt bike racer from San Clemente, California who started on the path to prescription drug addiction when he was just thirteen years old. After breaking his leg during a race, doctors in the hospital prescribed morphine for pain and he quickly become addicted. Throughout his teen and young adult years, Matthew entered various addiction treatment centers in an attempt to treat his painkiller addiction. His parents often wondered whether he was intentionally injuring himself during bike races so that he could obtain more painkillers from medical professionals.
Then, a few years ago, things started looking up for Matthew. It seemed as if one of his various stints in rehab had worked; he managed to stay off prescription painkillers for ninety days and got engaged. However, then his girlfriend fractured her cervical vertebrae and needed his help. Instead of continuing drug treatment, he dropped out and returned home to care for her. The 24-year-old lasted only about two weeks before relapsing; his mother found him dead on the bathroom floor surrounded by prescription drugs (maximum-strength OxyContin, Soma, and Xanax).
In a confusing twist for Matthew’s parents, the pills were traced back to an unfamiliar Dr. Tseng, who practiced roughly fifty miles from where Matthew lived. Tseng had prescribed OxyContin just 48 hours before Matthew died – only four pills remained in the bottle out of the original thirty. His parents had never even heard of Tseng and still have no idea how Matthew had come under her care.
Ryan Latham, a twenty-one year old man who died of a prescription drug overdose in 2008, is another young patient who traveled to see Tseng. Officials claim that Latham’s system contained Vicodin, Xanax, and Soma when he died, pills prescribed by Tseng just one week prior. Although he had a history of drug abuse, Ryan had been clean for at least six months before he started seeing Tseng. Sadly, before he died, Ryan informed his mother that Tseng would prescribe painkillers to a patient based solely on past history of a painful condition.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-overdose-new-20100829,0,6188118,full.story
