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Mass. Doctor Charged with Running Percocet Mill

— Out Patient Surgery

3 patients obtained 58,000 pills over 3 years

A Needham, Mass., surgeon has been accused of supplying 3 patients with more than 58,000 Percocet pills over a 3-year period, according to prosecutors, who say Kathleen Porter, MD, often prescribed the painkillers without examining the patients who told police they were addicted.
Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone charged Dr. Porter, 59, with illegally prescribing controlled substances and falsifying a Drug Enforcement Agency application. The investigation of Dr. Porter began in winter 2009, when a Framingham, Mass., pharmacist alerted state police that a customer had been filling prescriptions for large amounts of Percocet.

Police learned that the patient was obtaining the opiates from 12 different pharmacies, yet not the one that was closest to their home. They traced the prescriptions to Dr. Porter. The DEA, meanwhile, was investigating a large number of Percocet prescriptions allegedly written by Dr. Porter. Between 2007 and 2009, 3 of her patients were prescribed more than 58,000 of the pills, according to the DA's office.

The patients would allegedly call Dr. Porter's direct line and ask for the Percocets, say prosecutors. Without examining the patients, she would write the prescriptions and tape them to her closed office door. The patients would then pick up and fill the prescriptions at various pharmacies. The 3 patients reported being drug-dependent and are currently undergoing treatment.

"We allege that Dr. Porter took advantage of her position and completely disregarded her patients' obvious addictions by failing to address their pain needs in a medically responsible manner," Mr. Leone said in a statement.

This is not the first time Dr. Porter's behavior has drawn attention from authorities. The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine has been reviewing questionable surgical actions since 2007, and the charge of falsifying the DEA document stems from her denial (during application for renewal of her license to handle controlled substances) that there were any pending actions against her state license.
Dr. Porter was unavailable for comment.