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A nurse licensed to prescribe medications and her ex-husband associated with a clinic Wauwatosa pain management They were accused of running an illegal pills plant that gave thousands of opioids to people who did not really need it, said the federal authorities. .
In a separate case, three residents of Milwaukee were charged with obtaining oxycodone through fraud and identity theft.
"All drug dealers do not carry guns," said Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel at a press conference Friday at the Milwaukee Federal Courthouse. "And all do not report to drug cartels south of the border."
According to a federal indictment, Lisa Hofschulz, 58, who also practices in Florida, and Robert Hofschulz, 70, conspired to distribute the drugs to clients who did not have a medical need legitimate for them. They led Clinical Pain Consultants at 2500 N. Mayfair Road in Wauwatosa.
The clinic opened at the end of 2014 and took only cash payments and no insurance. He deposited $ 800,000 in his account in 2015 and more than $ 1 million in cash in 2016.
The prosecution relates to the hiring of other prescribers – newly graduated nursing prescribers having little experience in pain management – and ordered them to prescribe painkillers. They also ordered a registered nurse, who was not allowed to prescribe the drugs, to distribute them to the clients when the authorized prescribers refused, accusations of accusation.
For favored clients, Lisa Hofschulz will even send prescriptions without an office visit, depending on the fees.
Suspension License
On the website of her clinic, she lists the following philosophy:
The goal is to understand the causes and effects of each patient's pain and develop a plan individualized treatment for each. With regular follow-up, I evaluate your progress, and I adjust the plan as needed
The records of the state of nursing provide more details on the current practice of Hofschulz. They show that she has provided monthly prescriptions for several types of drugs, even when urine tests show that clients were not using some of the drugs – suggesting that they were potentially selling them – and that they were actually positive for non-prescribed drugs, sometimes illegal drugs. Some clients have used cocaine. Hofschulz has also systematically neglected to take or document the vital signs of his patients.
In addition, Hofschulz has regularly prescribed massive doses; In the case of one client, she prescribed 210 oxycodone tablets at a rate of 30 mg per month for four months, compared with the 180 and 150 tablets she had prescribed in the previous eight months . For the same patient, she prescribed 60 alprazolam tablets at a rate of 1 mg per month for almost a year, despite the fact that the patient consistently had negative results for the drug, according to the records. of the State Nursing Council.
In April, Hofschulz signed a stipulated 21-day suspension of his license, and a limitation of his practice to painless treatment, and a $ 10,000 refund to the state for investigation .
Records also indicate that she has stopped practicing in Wisconsin, although the Clinical Pain Consultants website continues to register as one of the office's practitioners. If she intends to practice again in Wisconsin, she must give 15 days notice. Clinic officials could not be reached immediately on Fridays, a day when their office is closed.
Hofschulz's license to practice as an advanced exercise prescriber in Florida remains in good standing, and she was not disciplined there, according to the online records of the Florida Department of Health.
Closed on Friday, according to the office voice message
Clinic launched with a roofer
Before Hofshulz started Clinical Pain Consultants in late 2014, she launched another Wauwatosa pain clinic revealed in April by the Journal Sentinel. investigation
Hofschulz joined Justin Hanson, a roofer with no medical training, to open Wauwatosa Pain Management Clinic in 2013.
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RELATIVELY: Former employees told officers that Hanson was exerting strong pressure to prescribe painkillers, even for patients whose urine showed that they were not taking them or had exhausted their last allocation.
Less than two years after starting the business, Hanson buys Hofschulz, sells his share to NuMale Medical and renames the Universal Pain Center Clinic, 6001 W North Ave.
Former employees of Universal Pain Center told investigators that patients would typically pay around $ 300 for an initial visit and then $ 200 for a follow-up when they would receive prescription renewals.
Investigators believe that patients voluntarily paid more than they would have used insurance from other providers "because they receive it reliably and regularly opioids for which there is no legitimate medical purpose ".
Nobody other than Hofschulz has been charged so far. Hanson's lawyer did not return telephone message
Oxycodone fraud
A separate indictment indicted Kameka Simpson, 43, Eric Jasper, 33 years, and Brittany Washington, 27, all of Milwaukee, to have obtained oxycodone, Schedule II substance, by deliberately submitting a fraudulent prescription in a retail pharmacy
They were also charged with unlawful possession and use of the identity of a licensed drug prescriber, who was working in the same West Allis Pain Management Clinic as some defendants.
Each head of prescription fraud carries a maximum sentence of four years imprisonment, while a conviction for aggravated identity theft would result in a mandatory minimum of two years. One or both of these convictions result in a fine of up to $ 250,000, a year of extended supervision and a special assessment of $ 100.
The charges announced Friday morning by US Attorney Matt Krueger and others in Milwaukee were part of what US Attorney General Jeff Sessions has called the biggest fraud in the history of the health. including 76 doctors, 23 pharmacists and 19 nurses – in fake prescription transactions that generated more than $ 2 billion in fraudulent billings to Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare, while feeding the dependencies of desperate users through the country.
"In many cases, doctors, nurses and pharmacists are taking advantage of people with addictions to line up on their pockets," Sessions told a news conference Thursday in Washington. , DC
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