Officials say Kentucky doctor could worsen addiction by prescribing too many pain pills
State regulators have suspended a Pike County doctor over concerns that included prescribing drug combinations favored by people who abuse pills or sell them illegally.
The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure released an emergency order Tuesday suspending the license of Dr. Crystal K. Compton.
Compton is an osteopath specializing in internal medicine, according to the order.
The board said the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services began investigating Compton after receiving an anonymous report in August 2018 that she might be prescribing drugs improperly.
The cabinet found concerns, including that Compton allegedly prescribed high doses of pain drugs called opioids that have helped drive addiction and fatal overdoses in Kentucky.
A consultant also noted problems after reviewing files on some of Compton’s patients.
The concerns included prescribing “heavy doses” of pain pills and other drugs without making an effort to refer patients to treatment by pain specialists, mental health counselors or physical therapists.
The consultant cited a concern over the combination of drugs Compton was prescribing for one patient, which included pain pills, a muscle relaxer, an anti-anxiety drug and methadone.
“This could very easily cause overdose and death,” the consultant said. “Also leading to chronic opioid dependence and addiction problems.”
In some cases, the charts did not mention any effort by Compton to deal with patients’ health problems, such as high blood pressure.
In one case, a patient complained of swelling all over. Compton did not address the issue and “just refilled the pain pills and Xanax,” the consultant wrote.
The consultant found that Compton’s practice constituted a danger to patients, and the licensure board agreed.
Compton’s attorney notified the board that she would stop prescribing controlled substances in mid-August, but the board went ahead with the order suspending her until the complaint against her is resolved.
Compton’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published August 27, 2019 at 11:27 AM.
