Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
Stumble
Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009 | 2 a.m.
Kevin Buckwalter, the former physician, no longer practices medicine after the state Board of Medical Examiners and the Drug Enforcement Administration last year revoked his licenses to prescribe controlled substances. He had been linked to eight patient deaths.
Sun Archives
- Widows: Doctor prescribed narcotics that led to addictions, deaths (10-14-2009)
- Doctor sued by families of 3 dead patients (4-28-2009)
- Doctor linked to 8 overdose fatalities (12-19-2008)
- License to prescribe lost, practice sold (11-25-2008)
- When drugs bring harm not healing (10-15-08)
- Patient’s husband remembers her wry humor, last pain-filled weeks (10-15-08)
- Her outlook darkened as her addiction deepened, journal details (10-15-08)
Sun Coverage
Dr. Buckwalter, In His Own Words
Viewing video requires the latest version of Adobe's Flash Player
A Deposition of Dr. Buckwalter.
Sun Topics
The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners rejected Friday a proposed settlement with a Henderson physician linked by authorities to the deaths of eight patients after prescribing them narcotic painkillers.
The proposed agreement with Dr. Kevin Buckwalter called for him to plead guilty to three counts of malpractice, pay a $4,000 fine and allow the board to revoke his license to practice. The revocation would have been stayed if Buckwalter granted the board “unfettered access” to his medical records.
After 18 months Buckwalter could have applied to end the revocation of his license.
It was unclear why the medical board rejected the settlement, which was negotiated by the medical board’s counsel, Edward Cousineau, and Buckwalter’s brother, attorney Bryce Buckwalter.
Board member Dr. Michael Fischer, who made the motion to reject the settlement, refused to say whether the panel viewed it as too lenient or too strict. Board officials said members could not comment on the case because it hasn’t been resolved.
But one medical official familiar with the workings of the board said the panel was acting cautiously because of recent media scrutiny of its actions and motives. The board doesn’t want to “be perceived as letting him off too easy,” said the official who asked not to be identified.
The official said board members want the matter resolved during a full hearing, where evidence is presented publicly, instead of signing off on a settlement negotiated behind closed doors.
Douglas Cooper, interim executive director of the medical board, confirmed the Buckwalter case will be resolved in a disciplinary trial before the board.
In November 2008, Buckwalter was stripped by the medical board and the Drug Enforcement Administration of his license to prescribe controlled substances after a Sun investigation linked his practice to multiple patient deaths. The oversight agencies linked Buckwalter to eight deaths.
Buckwalter, who has stopped practicing medicine, faces a number of lawsuits accusing him of violating medical standards when he prescribed large doses of narcotic painkillers that contributed to patients’ deaths.
The state’s allegations against Buckwalter focus on four cases in which he is accused of writing excessive prescriptions without keeping adequate records.
During Friday’s medical board meeting, Fischer asked about the other Buckwalter cases reported by the Sun. But Cousineau, the board’s counsel, said the panel could discuss only the four cases in the state’s complaint.
In one, the complaint accuses Buckwalter of prescribing excessive amounts of the pain medicines OxyContin and Kadian, which contributed to the death of the patient.
In another, the complaint says Buckwalter wrote 49 prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Alprazolam but provided no record or justification why. Buckwalter started the patient at the maximum dosage, the complaint noted.
Buckwalter also wrote 61 prescriptions of Alprazolam for a patient between June 2006 and April 2008 without documenting the patient’s response to the medication and the reason for increasing doses, according to the complaint.
The fourth case found that Buckwalter wrote 71 prescriptions for a controlled substance without documenting “the reasons for medication changes relating to narcotics, benzodiazepines and muscle relaxer.”
The state investigation also found inadequate record keeping.
Dr. Jerry Calvanese, a medical reviewer for the board, examined the records of numerous Buckwalter patients. In an affidavit, he said: “A vast majority of the records include essentially no physical exam. Even when there is documentation in the records of a physical exam, the documentation is mostly illegible ... In addition, my review has created concerns in my mind that Dr. Buckwalter has administered inappropriate narcotics shots in the office setting and not taken proper steps to ensure patient safety thereto.”
Bryce Buckwalter told the board that his brother is a “good doctor who loves helping people” and is eager to return to practicing medicine. Since his suspension, Kevin Buckwalter has received 174 hours of medical education, 40 percent of it in pain management, he said.
Kevin Buckwalter recognizes the issues with his medical practice, his brother said.
“It is something we have dealt with,” he said. “It comes down to a chart problem.”
did buckwalter's proposed settlement actually call for the revocation of his license to be stayed???
has desai's license to practice medicine been revoked???
did the board recently agree to let carrera practice medicine again???
what actions, if any, were taken with regard to carrol???
does the board understand the basic legal concept that a license, by definition, can be revoked???
is the medical board afraid to revoke a doctor's license to practice medicine???
does the medical board settle cases because they are just plain old lazy???
how many disciplinary trials have there been in the last 5 years???
how many settlements have there been in the past 5 years???
is the medical board protecting its' own???
what the hell is going on???
were board members with ties to desai allowed to remain on the board, yet stoess, whose actions would have actually helped the public understand the workings of the board, asked to resign???
does the board understand that they need to act without even the appearance of impropriety???
why was the emergency regulation regarding medical assistants passed without proper public comment???
does the medical board even care about the public???
did some board members have to get to lunch???
why was the emergency regulation regarding medical assistants an emergency all of a sudden anyway???
was it pure coincidence that one of the by products of the emergency regulation regarding medical assistants would have been to drive business away from spas and back to doctors???
was the medical board protecting its' own???
what the hell was going on???
did and does the medical board's web site give the citizens of the great state of nevada proper notice of any and all actions taken against the doctors to whom it has granted licenses???
why aren't the doctors themselves screaming at the medical board at the top of their lungs???
does the medical board think that it is above the law???
is the medical board drunk on its' own arrogance???
and on and on and on...
too many questions...
too many excuses...
too many tortured rationalizations...
not enough satisfactory answers...
the citizens of the great state of nevada are not safe...
the legislature needs to blow the medical board up and start over from scratch...
the citizens of the great state of nevada need to contact their legislators and remind them of the following...
legislators do, in fact, have the power to blow the medical board up and start over from scratch...
legislators must, in fact, blow the medical board up and start over from scratch...
call your assembly person and senator today...
enough is enough!!!
http://mapserve.leg.state.nv.us/website/......
Comment removed by moderator. Violated the reader agreement.
Does The "Nevada Board of Medical Examiners" ,
rellay want a "Pathological-serial-killer"
left on-board ! to add another victim to "Kevin Buckwalter's, list of eight-patient's who are
allready "deceased ", Just do the right thing,
and prepare a resolution that abides by the
severities of the up most laws, and punish
Mr.Buckwalter . And if you do this, you wont have to worry anymore about getting attacked by the " Media". " My condolences " goes out to each of the eight famalies .
Its not over because the Medical Board has yet to investigate all of the complaints against this doctor. Unbelivable that he has been attending medical education classes while he his under suspension . He has 40% of his schooling in pain management ? What a joke. Can you imagine such a person treating people in a pain management clinic, he could not keep proper records before what gives him the right now? Please medical board do the right thing and answer evey letter from every family who has lost a loved one.
Remember, medicine is not a perfect science,
nor art. PEOPLE WILL DIE despite the best efforts and intentions of their caregivers. Not to justify this physicians results. We have no access to the entire facts. I've noticed though, a lot of comments that can only lead me to conclude some commentators have intense hatred and /or envy regarding a profession that is providing care equivalent to the level provided by every other profession in town- good or bad. We would all wish its not like the wild west here BUT if you want better services and care here consider paying a fair due of taxes.
No medicine is not a perfect science , but when a doctor starts writing presciptions he better know what the heck he is doing .This doctor took an oath when he was given his license .HE has not a clue how to practice medicine . I do have access to the entire facts public record oh by the way he didn't keep records , he wrote wants RX on files , and he sold his practice the day after he lost (only) his license to presrcibe narcotics only . Yes he could still be practicing medicine but he chose to bail on his patients
Obtaining your degree from the West Indies , is like Christopher Columbus having dinner with the President . Not a good thing . He killed my niece ! Now he has to go to jail its taking way to long . Stop the nonsense government agencies what he did was wrongful & negligent . How would you like if it happened to your niece or nephew ? Evidently you are cold hearted & share no love with your own family , and your job is only a job for you with a paycheck . If you can't do your job them maybe we should have volunteers carry out your postion & fire everyone involved in wanting this man to stay in business you are opening up a huge can of worms . I am writing to the White House , they need budget cuts