Delaware News

Settlement Reached in Overprescribing Case

Department of State | Date Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2012



Dr. Patrick Titus must meet stringent requirements for treating pain management patients

Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock has signed an order to accept a consent decree setting forth numerous requirements that Dr. Patrick Titus must satisfy before he is allowed to resume prescribing controlled substances. Dr. Titus’ Controlled Substance Registration was suspended in December 2011 when it was alleged that he had been overprescribing controlled substances and ignoring evidence that some of his pain management patients were abusing or diverting the controlled substances.

Dr. Titus admitted that he needs additional training and education to safely and effectively prescribe controlled substances to chronic pain patients. He also admitted that controls to prevent diversion and abuse of controlled substances were inadequate and may have actually led to abuse.

“This is unfortunately another of an increasing number of cases involving lax prescribing practices that lead to diversion and abuse of potentially dangerous drugs,” said Secretary Bullock. “The effects of prescription drug abuse and diversion can be devastating to individuals, families and communities. It is imperative that physicians strictly adhere to standards for safely prescribing controlled substances.”

Among the terms of the consent agreement, Dr. Titus must fulfill extensive requirements before his registration will be reinstated. These include evidence that his practice is fully equipped to comply with regulations and guidelines set forth by the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Furthermore, Dr. Titus’s staff must undergo training on these regulations and guidelines and appropriate medical record keeping practices. He will be subject to random audits for the next two years.

Dr. Titus must also complete 12 hours of Continuing Medical Education (“CME”), in addition to those regularly required for license renewal (40 hours), on opioid prescription practices, treatment of chronic pain, or other related topics before his suspension will be lifted. For the next two years, Dr. Titus must take 6 additional CME hours on these topics each year.

When treating patients for chronic pain, Dr. Titus must require toxicology screens.  He may not treat any pain management patients longer than six months. Thereafter, he must refer each patient to a recognized pain management physician for re-evaluation.

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Settlement Reached in Overprescribing Case

Department of State | Date Posted: Tuesday, April 17, 2012



Dr. Patrick Titus must meet stringent requirements for treating pain management patients

Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock has signed an order to accept a consent decree setting forth numerous requirements that Dr. Patrick Titus must satisfy before he is allowed to resume prescribing controlled substances. Dr. Titus’ Controlled Substance Registration was suspended in December 2011 when it was alleged that he had been overprescribing controlled substances and ignoring evidence that some of his pain management patients were abusing or diverting the controlled substances.

Dr. Titus admitted that he needs additional training and education to safely and effectively prescribe controlled substances to chronic pain patients. He also admitted that controls to prevent diversion and abuse of controlled substances were inadequate and may have actually led to abuse.

“This is unfortunately another of an increasing number of cases involving lax prescribing practices that lead to diversion and abuse of potentially dangerous drugs,” said Secretary Bullock. “The effects of prescription drug abuse and diversion can be devastating to individuals, families and communities. It is imperative that physicians strictly adhere to standards for safely prescribing controlled substances.”

Among the terms of the consent agreement, Dr. Titus must fulfill extensive requirements before his registration will be reinstated. These include evidence that his practice is fully equipped to comply with regulations and guidelines set forth by the Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine. Furthermore, Dr. Titus’s staff must undergo training on these regulations and guidelines and appropriate medical record keeping practices. He will be subject to random audits for the next two years.

Dr. Titus must also complete 12 hours of Continuing Medical Education (“CME”), in addition to those regularly required for license renewal (40 hours), on opioid prescription practices, treatment of chronic pain, or other related topics before his suspension will be lifted. For the next two years, Dr. Titus must take 6 additional CME hours on these topics each year.

When treating patients for chronic pain, Dr. Titus must require toxicology screens.  He may not treat any pain management patients longer than six months. Thereafter, he must refer each patient to a recognized pain management physician for re-evaluation.

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.