Chad Poage, DO, pleaded guilty to fraudulently prescribing controlled substances using another physician's Drug Enforcement Administration number, according to the DOJ.
Four things to know:
1. Dr. Poage pleaded guilty to a single count of possessing a controlled substance fraudulently while practicing in West Virginia. He pleaded guilty to writing 30 fraudulent prescriptions for around 1,330 50mg tablets of Tramadol, 420 5mg tablets of Diazepam and 50 30mg tablets of acetaminophen-codeine No. 3 for personal use.
2. To order the prescriptions, Dr. Poage used a colleague's DEA number without authorization and used a stolen driver's license to pick up the prescriptions from pharmacies. In some cases, he also wrote the prescriptions for a patient but then picked up the drugs for personal use.
3. These charges are part of the Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, which has charged 60 individuals in 11 districts since it launched in October.
4. Dr. Poage previously practiced with Mountainstate Orthopedic Associates in Morgantown, W.Va., a group he joined in 2015. He is a fellowship trained sports medicine physician.