Somerset doctor on 5-year probation says positive meth test was due to his hair gel
A Pulaski County doctor’s medical license was put on probation after he was twice treated for substance abuse disorders last year and has attributed a recent positive meth test to his use of hair gel.
Jordan Laferty, of Somerset, has agreed to abstain from mood-altering substances, including alcohol, and will be subject to periodic, unannounced drug tests for five years under an amended agreed order filed Thursday by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.
He was diagnosed in February with severe alcohol and meth use disorders in sustained remission by an addiction treatment recovery center in Florida, the medical licensing board said.
Laferty was an internal medicine hospitalist employed by Apogee Physicians and licensed to practice at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, according to details matching his description on a LinkedIn profile and stipulations of fact in the amended order.
LCRH filed a grievance with the medical licensure board after it received reports that Laferty was “exhibiting unusual unavailability in answering needs for patient care,” according to the order. Other reports claimed he was slurring his speech and had dilated pupils.
He tested positive for amphetamine and meth and was placed on a leave of absence. Laferty voluntarily contacted the Kentucky Physicians Health Foundation and forwent an evaluation process before he was admitted directly to a residential treatment program at the Florida Recovery Center in early 2025, the order states.
In April 2025, Laferty entered into a five-year aftercare and monitoring contract with KPHF, a nonprofit that specializes in evaluating, testing and treating medical professionals struggling with substance abuse, mental health issues and burnout. He agreed to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, individual therapy, undergo medication management and comply with drug and alcohol testing. Those terms were codified in a May 2025 medical licensure board agreed order.
But in October, KPHF received positive blood and saliva tests for alcohol and recommended a comprehensive assessment. A month later, a hair test came back positive for meth, which Laferty denied ingesting, the order states.
After an assessment, the KPHF evaluating team recommended that Laferty cease clinical practice. He was readmitted for residential treatment at the Florida addiction treatment facility.
During treatment, the order states that Laferty admitted to consuming alcohol several times in 2025 but has continued to “vehemently deny” meth use, and has attributed his positive test results “to the hair gel he used.”
Under the order, signed by Laferty and a panel board chair, violation of any term or conditions may constitute an emergency order of suspension or restriction.
An LCRH spokesperson said that, as a matter of practice, the hospital does not comment on matters involving current or former members of the medical staff.
“However, I can confirm that Dr. Laferty previously practiced at our hospital through a hospitalist group and has not been affiliated with our facility for some time,” the hospital’s marketing department said in a statement to the Herald-Leader.
An Apogee Physicians spokesperson was unavailable, according to an operator at the company’s Arizona corporate headquarters office, who was reached by phone.
An active profile matching his description list him as a board-certified internal medicine physician at a CenterWell Senior Primary Care facility in Louisville. A phone operator for the company said his name does not appear on the schedule there. The company’s media relations department did not immediately respond to a Herald-Leader request for comment.
Laferty is an active physician who has been practicing in Kentucky since 2021 and works at a property owned by CenterWell, according to his licensure details. He graduated with a medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in the Caribbean country of Grenada. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Kentucky, according to a LinkedIn profile matching his description.
The KBML regulates strict qualification and ethical standards for medical and osteopathic physicians, physician assistants, athletic trainers, and other allied health professionals, acupuncturists, genetic counselors and surgical assistants.
