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twitterPRESCRIPTION PAINKILLERS:
License to prescribe lost, practice sold
State officials want to know where Buckwalter is, but say his lawyer isn’t telling
Tiffany Brown
Dr. Kevin Buckwalter worked at this Henderson office, photographed in September. His lawyer says the doctor has not fled and is eager to defend himself. The new owner of Buckwalter’s practice says patients can pick up records at the office, but it would like to keep treating them.
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 | 2 a.m.
Dr. Buckwalter, In His Own Words
A Deposition of Dr. Buckwalter.
Deposition
Sun coverage
- Nov. 25 -- License to prescribe lost, practice sold
- Nov. 13 -- Board strips doctor of license to prescribe controlled substances
- Oct. 15 -- When drugs bring harm not healing
- Oct. 15 -- Her outlook darkened as her addiction deepened, journal details
- Oct. 15 -- Patient’s husband remembers her wry humor, last pain-filled weeks
Sun Topics
Beyond the Sun
A Henderson physician whose license to prescribe controlled substances was yanked by state authorities has abruptly sold his business, leaving his 1,500 patients in the hands of a new medical group.
Dr. Kevin Buckwalter, a family physician and pediatrician who has been the subject of a Sun investigation, sold his practice to Summit Medical Group last week — one business day after he lost his license to prescribe controlled substances — officials said.
Louis Ling, executive director of the Nevada State Medical Board, said he learned late last week that Buckwalter had sold his practice, after a Buckwalter patient called the board, complaining of difficulty getting medical records.
Ling said his office wants to know where Buckwalter is — and that his attorney, who is Buckwalter’s brother, isn’t saying.
If Buckwalter plans to continue practicing in Nevada, he must notify the medical board of his whereabouts within 15 days of when he left his clinic, on Nov. 17.
The medical board’s action against Buckwalter came two months after the Sun published the first story in a months-long investigation of Buckwalter’s practice. The Sun found the doctor had been prescribing in alarmingly large amounts narcotics such as hydrocodone, the main ingredient in Vicodin and Lortab; oxycodone, the main ingredient in OxyContin; and the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.
Experts who reviewed Buckwalter medical records — with the permission of patients and their families — told the Sun his prescription habits contributed to three deaths and one overdose.
In its own investigation, the Medical Board said it found four alleged cases of medical malpractice, including one that led to a patient’s death. In that case, Buckwalter prescribed “excessive” doses of the narcotic painkillers OxyContin and Kadian in 2004 and 2005, documents show.
In the three other cases, Buckwalter’s records show no evaluation of the patients’ responses to medications, no explanations for why patients were given maximum allowable doses and few records related to treatment outcomes or justification of increased controlled substance prescriptions, the medical board complaint said.
Don Baile, whose wife of 50 years died in April while under Buckwalter’s care, said he was relieved to hear the doctor is out of business, but suspicious about his reasons for shutting down his office. He said he wonders if Buckwalter is running away from the medical board, which is still investigating him after it summarily suspended his license to prescribe controlled substances on Nov. 13. The Drug Enforcement Administration also is investigating his practice. Baile said he is planning to sue Buckwalter and hopes he can never practice again.
Buckwalter’s clinic is now being operated by a physician who works for Summit, a Las Vegas group owned by California-based HealthCare Partners.
Patient records are now available for anyone who wants them, though Summit Medical Group’s plan is to continue seeing the same patients, a spokesman for the medical group said.
Bryce Buckwalter, the physician’s attorney and brother, said in an e-mail to the Sun that his brother is not fleeing the medical board or the state, and that he is offended that anyone would make such allegations.
“We plan on vigorously defending all of (the) claims made by the state and are looking forward to our hearing,” Buckwalter wrote.
After the medical board reviews more patient records, its complaint may be amended to include more charges against Buckwalter, officials said. At that time, a hearing will be scheduled.
Discussion: 20 comments so far…
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Locally owned and independent for more than 50 years.
I bet he is already out of the USA.
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When we are guilty we tend to run & hide. If innocent defend yourself. That was the quickest sale of a business in this economy. Makes you wonder ? How could you leave your patients on a moments notice ? Knowing that you took an oath to help & treat the sick.
Is that notification 15 business days ?
As with any other profession or industry, there are some Doctors out there who only care about the money. Hopefully these are the exception, rather than the rule, because unlike almost every other profession or industry, Doctors hold peoples lives in their hands.
In the hippocratic oath, it is stated: "I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug".
Unfortunately, because of the enormous costs involved in, first, becoming a Doctor, and then paying the costs involved in running a medical treatment facility, inclusive of huge insurance costs, Doctors are rushed to see as many patients as possible. In this rush to see as many patients as possible, I believe Doctors have become more and more dependant on the quick prescription of drugs to replace the time it takes for "warmth, sympathy, and understanding". I personally cannot recall the last time that I went to the Doctor for any reason, and had the privildge of seeing my Doctor for a short few minutes at best, and then was handed a prescription by someone else, Nurse or otherwise, and sent on my way.
Although I believe most Doctors are honorable people, after the recent episode with Dr. Desai, and now this Doctor, going to see the Doctor can be a little scary.
Has anyone wondered WHY doctors are the only ones to be able to prescribe medicine?
We should deregulate this (obviously regulation hasn't worked and more regulation is only going to make medical care more expensive).
The reason Doctors are the only ones allowed to prescribe medication is because Doctors have nice powerful lobbies that get the government to carve them out spheres of influence to drive up demand and thus increase the price they are able to charge for their service.
More information on dumb regulations in Nevada: http://npri.org/publications/design-flaw...
Unbelieveable. How has this guy not lost his license yet to practice medicine? The Medical Board in Nevada always seeks to protect its own before protecting patients. It is a disgrace that this guy has not has his license either revoked, or at least suspended.
ummm, maybe doctors prescribe medicine because they understand the body and know what medicine will do to their patient. While many doctors have been bought off by drug companies, any other person prescribing medicine would have to run the same gauntlet. What would you suggest KDR? Because I'll prescribe medicine for people, but they probably won't get better.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone :) gobble gobble
This man is a good Dr. I am not familiar in detail with the case, and, therefore, will not pass judgement out of emotion based on whatever biased reporting is presented. What I see presented is that one person got addicted out of however many patients he had. Having never been addicted, I can't say anything either way but wonder at what point personal responsibility comes into play. I also don't know the circumstances behind the individual who lost his wife, and I am sure that very few others who are not directly involved know, either. What I have not seen reported, and what I can tell you from first-hand experience, is that Dr. Buckwalter is a great Dr. He always took whatever amount of time I needed from him to spend on diagnosis and treatment. He genuinely cares, and it shows. There was no sense of rushing from patient to patient like what is so prevalent these days. I also know other people who have gone to him who will say the same. What happened is unfortunate, and he will be missed as a Dr. Now I need to find somebody else to see, and filling his shoes will be tough.
People don't realize that like teachers Doctors in Las Vegas don't really make that much money.They work their butts off and get little respect.Teachers get blamed because the kids get low grading for the State of Nevada.Parents do not take responsibility for their own children in their education.They feel that they pay their taxes and it is up to the teacher to make their kids geniuses.Doctor go to school for over ten years and do four years of residency and so on. Doctors work long hours, have to know everything listlen to irrisponsible nasty mean neg people that all they whant is RX.They become addics and boom the DR. made me an addict.Do you think that the insurance pays them a lot.Dont you people hear how many people don't have insaurance.It takes alot of compassion to be a doctor.Do you think you could be a doctor and do what they have to do and see.Be there for people that are really sick and dying.The only people that mostly have comented are the people that had family members as patients.Not actual patients. How do you base an opinion on the few neg patients.Did you take the time to think maybe they did not get their fix and are retaliating. how would you feel if you were the DR.B and worked youre BUTT off and read all the NEG CRAP people have wrote.I think you would be hurt. I know for a fact that his intention was to help people not hurt them. Because he was too trusting a lot of irrisposible carless people took advantage of him.He Sold his practice because of all the NEG CRAP people wrote.I don't blame him.How would you feel if it was you're name.BOO HOOO you killed my love one.You did not put a gun in their head and say"take all the RX!"
northsider
you need to realise that she is dead.focus on the family that you have alive.Sometimes people dwell to much in the people that are dead and don't pay attention to the ones they have alive. she ended her life.DR.B did not make her end her life.She chose to end her life may she rest in peace.Yes I have had my dad die at the age of five and loving grand parents,friends so I know the pain.I pray for you and hope that each day gets better.
Get a clue Norma.
Dr. B= Dr. Death
The innocent do not run and hide. If you knew ANY addicts, you would know they lose control and Dr. B. CHOSE to continue feeding their addictions. My husband was one of his victims. Was my husband at fault. OF COURSE! But the dr. who takes a health to heal and then just feeds a person's addiction is responsible as well. You want Northsider to get over his daughter's untimely death. It is clear you never lost a child or spouse at the hands of someone else.
RUN-------BUCK-----------RUN !!!!!!
Get a clue!No you get a clue!It is our responsibility to help our spouses.Would we let our spouse drive drunk?Do we blame the alcohol and beverage indistrie for the alcoholism,drunk driving deaths,alcohol fetal syndrome and ect.The doctors responsibility is to help the sick get better.The doctor gives the RX with directions.The pharmacy gives a page of information per Rx and reviews with you the directions.It is our responsibility to read the informatin and follow the directions.If we fail follow the RX we are responsible for the consequenses.That is the problem with society.Ready to blame others and not take responsibility.They blame the doctor for making them addicts,they blame the teacher for their kids getting F's, and so on.I reviewed Dr.B with the medical board and he got excelent reviews.Dr.B score high scores and had no complaints.There is many positive comments that his patients have placed.That is why I picked him.Last sunday I reviewing him again thrugh the medical board and same score high and excelent.Dr.B is not running or hidding he is just sick of the neg publicity due to the ignorant people.I do not blame him.
All the untimely death where the conequences to their actions and not anyones fault but their own.I am truly sorry for everyones loss.
You whant to talk about a bad doctor.My friend had a procedure done.When she awoke from anesthegia the anesthesiologist Dr.Stephen Gephardt told her to sign a paper.She was still groggy and sign.It turns out that is a form stading that she is responsible to pay the difference of what the ins doesnt pay.My friend has a HMO ins.His office is harrasing her to pay.The ins pay over $300 and now she is being harrased for the remaining $300.Now the office is threatning to send her to collections.Now that is an ETHICAL and wrong.This doctor only thinks of himself.
I owe an apologise to Dr.Gephart.Today I talked to him and found out that the HMO does not pay for anesthegia.That is what I mean as far as the doctors not making much.Here in Las Vegas we have a lot of people without insurance.The doctors work long hours and sacrifise a lot of time from their families.They do it because of their love for medicine.I am sorry Dr.Gephart. Keep up the great work.May God bless all the hard working,underpayed,and underappreciated MD's.
Time is up
He was a Great Dr. We will miss him! I wish he would come back :) I have steel Rod's in my back I have been in cronic pain for 15yr's. For the last 2 yr's under his care I could walk again. Now Im limping looking for a new Dr and unable to play with my kids. I will miss him!
Sold as is