23536
Bluelight Crew
http://www.tampabay.com/news/public...ms-of-wrongdoing-at-tampa-pain-clinic/1142927
TAMPA — The attorney for a doctor accused of single-handedly prescribing 1 million oxycodone pills in three months at a Tampa pain clinic defended her Friday, saying she broke no law and is simply the victim of politics.
Kimberly Daffern, a 44-year-old West Point graduate, was arrested Wednesday along with two clinic owners and charged with racketeering, trafficking in a controlled substance and conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance.
"This woman did not do anything wrong," attorney Chip Purcell said. "In our panic to deal with whatever perceived problem with pain clinics the government seems to have, they've basically caught up a dolphin in a tuna net."
In an effort to prove her innocence, Daffern provided results of a polygraph test to police, Purcell said.
. . .
The couple's attorney, Dale Sisco, said his clients followed the law and even employed a pain specialist who reviewed the medical records.
He said the reason it sometimes took patients three days to see a doctor was that their records were being checked. Patients who tested positive for any illicit drugs were turned away, Sisco said.
"People weren't just walking in and paying cash and getting prescriptions," Sisco said.
. . .
In the spring of 2010, Daffern went to 1st Medical Group, a little clinic in a strip mall near Raymond James Stadium. She was paid $150 an hour at first, then later $2,000 in cash each day, police reported.
Of 5,790 patients who saw her, 99 percent walked out with prescriptions for oxycodone, an affidavit filed with her arrest warrant states.
Every day between May 1 and July 26 — including weekends — Daffern wrote oxycodone prescriptions, police say. On her busiest day, July 15, she ordered 123 prescriptions for a total of 27,330 oxycodone pills, police reported.
In those three months, police say she authorized a little more than 1 million oxycodone pills.
That's a lot for one doctor, said Bruce Grant, director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control, which has led Florida's crackdown on prescription drug abuse. (Grant's last day is Monday. Gov.-elect Rick Scott decided to close the drug office.)
"If you break that down into patients, then you start doing the math into how many tablets each of those folks get," Grant said, noting that the patients may not be using all of the drugs themselves.
. . .
The Tampa police affidavit provided a glimpse of what the state's case could include. In it, three unnamed police informers — all former patients — explained their interactions with Daffern.
One man, who came from Ohio, told police that when he visited the clinic, Daffern's first question was, "How many pills did you get at the other clinic?"
The only medical question Daffern asked was if the patient was allergic to any medication, the affidavit states. Then she wrote a prescription for 150 tablets of 30-milligram oxycodone, 90 tablets of 15-milligram oxycodone and 30 tablets of Xanax.
A second patient told police that during a July examination, the doctor made him do two movements, then engaged in negotiation about how many pills would be prescribed, the affidavit states.
A third patient told police that the exam lasted less than two minutes. Investigators reported that the patient left with orders for 240 tablets of 30-milligram oxycodone and 30 tablets of Xanax.
TAMPA — The attorney for a doctor accused of single-handedly prescribing 1 million oxycodone pills in three months at a Tampa pain clinic defended her Friday, saying she broke no law and is simply the victim of politics.
Kimberly Daffern, a 44-year-old West Point graduate, was arrested Wednesday along with two clinic owners and charged with racketeering, trafficking in a controlled substance and conspiracy to traffic in a controlled substance.
"This woman did not do anything wrong," attorney Chip Purcell said. "In our panic to deal with whatever perceived problem with pain clinics the government seems to have, they've basically caught up a dolphin in a tuna net."
In an effort to prove her innocence, Daffern provided results of a polygraph test to police, Purcell said.
. . .
The couple's attorney, Dale Sisco, said his clients followed the law and even employed a pain specialist who reviewed the medical records.
He said the reason it sometimes took patients three days to see a doctor was that their records were being checked. Patients who tested positive for any illicit drugs were turned away, Sisco said.
"People weren't just walking in and paying cash and getting prescriptions," Sisco said.
. . .
In the spring of 2010, Daffern went to 1st Medical Group, a little clinic in a strip mall near Raymond James Stadium. She was paid $150 an hour at first, then later $2,000 in cash each day, police reported.
Of 5,790 patients who saw her, 99 percent walked out with prescriptions for oxycodone, an affidavit filed with her arrest warrant states.
Every day between May 1 and July 26 — including weekends — Daffern wrote oxycodone prescriptions, police say. On her busiest day, July 15, she ordered 123 prescriptions for a total of 27,330 oxycodone pills, police reported.
In those three months, police say she authorized a little more than 1 million oxycodone pills.
That's a lot for one doctor, said Bruce Grant, director of the Governor's Office of Drug Control, which has led Florida's crackdown on prescription drug abuse. (Grant's last day is Monday. Gov.-elect Rick Scott decided to close the drug office.)
"If you break that down into patients, then you start doing the math into how many tablets each of those folks get," Grant said, noting that the patients may not be using all of the drugs themselves.
. . .
The Tampa police affidavit provided a glimpse of what the state's case could include. In it, three unnamed police informers — all former patients — explained their interactions with Daffern.
One man, who came from Ohio, told police that when he visited the clinic, Daffern's first question was, "How many pills did you get at the other clinic?"
The only medical question Daffern asked was if the patient was allergic to any medication, the affidavit states. Then she wrote a prescription for 150 tablets of 30-milligram oxycodone, 90 tablets of 15-milligram oxycodone and 30 tablets of Xanax.
A second patient told police that during a July examination, the doctor made him do two movements, then engaged in negotiation about how many pills would be prescribed, the affidavit states.
A third patient told police that the exam lasted less than two minutes. Investigators reported that the patient left with orders for 240 tablets of 30-milligram oxycodone and 30 tablets of Xanax.
