Kentucky doctor who voted to discipline other physicians guilty of illegal prescribing
A physician who served on a panel that disciplined Kentucky doctors has been convicted of illegally prescribing drugs.
Michael Fletcher, 61, was found guilty by a federal judge of three counts of illegal distribution of a controlled substance. He was working at the time as a doctor at Interventional Pain Specialists in Crestview Hills, in Northern Kentucky.
In all, prosecutors said seven patients died shortly after Fletcher prescribed them opioids.
From 2016 to 2020, Fletcher was a voting member of the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure — the board that decides on sanctions for doctors accused of improper or illegal behavior — according to a trial brief filed by federal prosecutors.
In one case, Fletcher voted to bar a doctor from prescribing controlled substances based on concerns that the doctor failed to address the potential that patients were addicted to drugs or inappropriately seeking drugs, prosecutors said.
At the same time, Fletcher was prescribing drugs to a patient who showed serious red flags, including failing multiple drug tests, coming to an appointment smelling of alcohol and throwing up on himself, and admitting he was taking more drugs than prescribed, according to the prosecution brief.
Fletcher continued prescribing opioid painkillers for the patient until shortly before the man died of an overdose of heroin and cocaine, according to prosecutors.
Fletcher saw high volumes of patients, sometimes 80 or more in a day, and continued his dangerous prescribing in part because it allowed him to make more money, prosecutors said.
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure barred Fletcher from prescribing controlled substances after he was charged in 2021.
U.S. District Judge David Bunning found Fletcher guilty July 19. Bunning held a bench trial for Fletcher, meaning there was no jury, and Fletcher represented himself, the court docket indicates.
Fletcher is scheduled to be sentenced in December. The charge of illegal distribution of a controlled substance is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The U.S. Department of Justice handled the prosecution of Fletcher under a program aimed at working against fraud in health care.
Since 2007, more than 5,400 providers across the country have been charged under that initiative. Those providers had charged Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance companies a total of more than $27 billion, according to the Justice Department.
This story was originally published July 22, 2024 at 9:38 AM.
