LOUISVILLE — An Emergency Order of Restriction has been issued by the Kentucky Board of M
edical Licensure against a doctor who practiced in Maysville until recently.
Dr. Robert F. Ross. a family practice physician who served for a short period as medical director of a local hospice and practiced at a local medical clinic, is now restricted from prescribing, dispensing or professionally utilizing controlled substances, according to the EOR issued on Sept. 3 and signed by Dale E.Toney, M.D., chair of the board’s inquiry panel.
The complaint was initiated in February by an advanced nurse practitioner who alleged that Ross and his wife, also an advanced nurse practitioner, were writing controlled substances to one another and that Ross wrote duplicate controlled substance prescriptions to his wife’s patients.
An analysis of Ross’s prescribing patterns was inititated by the Office of Inspector General on March 11, according to the order, covering a one-year period from March 2018 to March 2019.
The report indicated several patterns of concern including long-term use of one or more controlled substances; combinations of controlled substances favored by persons who abuse or divert controlled substances; and prescribing controlled substances to family members.
The OIG identified nine patients, including Ross’s wife, who illustrated the concerns and recommended further review. They included:
—A patient who was prescribed Tussionex, a combination of of chlorpheniramine and hydrocodone, without evaluating the patient and without documentation to support a need for the medication.
— A patient with lung disease who was prescribed a combination of medications including opioids with no real oversight.
— A patient with sleep apnea who was prescribed an over the limit dose of benzodiazepines, which can be used to treat a variety of conditions such as anxiety or seizures, as well as 60 mg of oxycodone daily, doubling the risk of overdose death.
— A paraplegic who
received a combination of benzodiazepines and opioids while admittedly illegally using marijuana.
The order also claims Ross prescribed controlled medications to his wife from October 2017 to February 2019, including increasing dosages on two occasions. He also prescribed her Adipex, a prescription medicine for weight loss, for a body weight index of 25 although there was no documentation to support the drug’s use.
The board consultant said the eight patient charts reviewed “were not appropriately monitored by Dr. Ross, some with potentially catastrophic results. It is especially concerning that Dr. Ross was prescribing controlled, potentially addictive medications for his wife with no documentation in her chart to appropriate medical necessity.”
According to the report, Ross submitted a written response to the report on July 18, 2019, in which he acknowledged it was “poor judgment to prescribe Tussionex to a patient and alprazolam to his wife, said he was no longer involved in the care of other patients, had referred another to a pain management clinic and intended to “wean” others off of some medications. He declined an offer of remedial education and follow up monitoring,
The board acknowledged that if Ross follows the protocols he indicated in his response he would likely have no further issues with future chart reviews.
Ross is a graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and has been licensed to practice in Kentucky since 1987.
The board considered the matter on Aug. 15, including a memorandum from the medical investigator, the grievance, an investigative report from the OIG, a letter from Dr. Donald Wilson, a board consultant report and correspondence from Ross, who was present at the meeting.
After reviewing the reports and allegations, the board issued the EOR, effective until the board’s hearing panel has resolved the complaint or issued further orders.
Ross has 10 days to request an emergency hearing, according to the report.
A hearing on the issue is scheduled for March 2 and 3, 2020 in Louisville.
The full report is available at http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/kbml/finalorders/25361.pdf
