Paul Bolger, MD, reached a settlement to pay a $10,000 fine for prescribing pain medication to unfamiliar patients through the Internet, according to The Des Moines Register.
Here are five things to know:
1. Dr. Bolger reached the settlement with the Iowa Board of Medicine last week.
2. In spring 2015, a CBS News crew investigating the sales of painkiller creams confronted Dr. Bolger. A CBS report had entered his information into a website, seeking medication for pain and scars as part of the investigation.
3. A California pharmacy sent the reporter the medication merely two weeks letter. The reporter found a notation that Dr. Bolger wrote the prescription. When the reported asked Dr. Bolger if he felt he did something wrong providing prescriptions without interacting with patients, the physician replied, "I couldn't disagree with that."
4. Following the CBS report, the Iowa Board of Medicine began investigating Dr. Bolger. As per the settlement, Dr. Bolger cannot participate in telemedicine until he proves he can do so in a safe manner and the board grants him approval.
5. The physician admitted to ordering the medication from New York despite not having a medical license to practice in the state.
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