Muncie pain doctor arrested by federal agents, charged with 8 felony counts
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Jan. 6, 2015)– A Muncie pain doctor accused of dangerous prescribing practices was arrested Tuesday in Fort Wayne by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents.
Doctor William Hedrick‘s nurse practitioner, Gay Gunderson-Watson, was also arrested.
Hedrick faces eight total felony counts of forgery, Medicaid fraud and reckless prescribing. Gunderson-Watson faces 6 preliminary counts of forgery.
Hedrick operated the Centers for Pain relief in Muncie, and in October, the clinic was raided by federal agents.
The doctor is under investigation for fraud, forgery, dangerous prescribing and violating his probation. The state has identified eight former patients of Hedrick’s who have died of overdoses.
We have no concerns about collateral damage ?
5000 pts tossed “into the street” without any alternative care available…
Recently a number of big corporate retailers have had their database of credit cards from customers hacked.. If we applied the same/similar laws as we do to doctors who get conned .. shouldn’t we be arresting and indicting the people in the IT dept that allowed it too happen ?
Of course, if Dr Hedrick and his staff had been given the capability to validate driver’s licenses against the state’s BMV’s database to verify who was requesting care and swiping that driver’s license would automatically generate a INSPECT report – Indiana’s Prescription Monitor Program. So that diversion or doc/pharmacy shopping could be detected. BUT… in Indiana the BMV has stated that such would be an invasion of privacy and the state AG has stood by that decision.
It is as if the system… prefers not to use 21st century technology and existing databases to help fight this war on drugs and continues to use 20th century methodologies …. that continues to fail and allow the war on drugs to continue. Is this intentional… or .. just lack of understanding the problem and failure to recognize a more efficient way.
Filed under: General Problems
Before long they’ll be sending us to Vetenarians to put us down like sick animals are. Sad sack of shit I say! #PAINEDLIVESMATTER
Thanks for sharing Steve!
It’s easier and safer to attack medical professionals than the criminals and dealers. Or even to bother putting the time toward the ones that rob the pharmacies. This shortage of pain specialists is caused by the DEA along with the results of patients in pain that need narcotics can’t find a doctor to help and those patients with out pain medication. Now the mandated reporting is being abused-some doctors are choosing patients by it, Tennessee is giving police access to it along with investigating the top providers and pharmacies. Even though we know that doesn’t mean guilty except for those that believe suffering is part of life. I pray that painful diseases and injuries stop before more are driven to suicide. Would be more humane just to put ones like me with chronic pain that does not have a cure or time limit to a long sleep.
All this mandated monitoring and reporting… it’s creepy. It’s how they started monitoring patients who suffer from addiction, and addicts didn’t complain — treatment was more important than their own privacy.
Are those who are violent or have been convicted of a crime monitored as much as pain patients?