Steven Parry, DO , an osteopathic medicine physician, is facing drug charges after prescribing painkillers leading to a patient's death, according to Newsday.
Here are five things to know:
1. The U.S. District Court in Central arraigned Dr. Parry on Feb. 24 for providing prescription pills such as oxycodone, methadone and hydrocodone to patients who had no medical need for them.
2. One such patient overdosed and died in 2014 after taking the pills Dr. Parry prescribed. The arrest warrant claims the physician prescribed the victim "hundreds of controlled substance prescriptions" since 2010. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office determined the cause of death was acute intoxication, which the combined effects of hydrocodone, methadone and the muscle relaxant carisoprodol caused. Dr. Parry prescribed the patient all the medication.
3. Court documents reveal Dr. Parry did not listen to warnings from Medicaid and the victim's mother concerning her addiction. In 2010, Medicaid sent Dr. Parry a letter detailing the victim's history of opioid abuse. The letter also said the victim was prescribed suboxone for her addiction, but drug tests confirmed she was not taking the medication.
4. A confidential source who Dr. Parry wrote prescriptions for told the Drug Enforcement Agency the physician was "an easy write," meaning he would readily write prescriptions without evidence of a medical need.
5. Magistrate Judge Anne Shields set Dr. Parry's bond at $200,000, which the physician posted.
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