Kentucky doctor admits improper pain medication prescribing, gives up license
An Eastern Kentucky doctor who pleaded guilty to improperly prescribing opioid pain medication has surrendered his license.
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure announced the settlement with Dr. Jason Castle Thursday.
Castle, whose specialty is family medicine, had clinics in Paintsville called Eastern Kentucky Family Medicine and New Age Vitality Clinic, according to a court record.
Castle pleaded guilty in January to eight charges of distributing a controlled substance by writing prescriptions that were not issued for a “legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner acting within the usual course of professional practice,” his plea agreement said.
Castle improperly wrote prescriptions for patches that contain fentanyl.
Castle became aware last August that he was under investigation, but still wrote prescriptions for 90 of the patches to three people over the next two months that he knew were not written “within the usual course of professional practice,” according to the court record.
Castle gave up his license in lieu of the board revoking it and won’t be able to apply to get it back for at least two years, or until he finishes any prison sentence.
Castle, a 2005 graduate of the University of Kentucky School of Medicine, pleaded guilty Jan. 8 and was taken into custody immediately.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier scheduled Castle to be sentenced in April.
The maximum penalty would be 20 years in prison.
