Updated at 6:56 p.m., Monday, June 4, 2007
Kaua'i doctor charged with prescription offense
Advertiser Staff
Federal authorities have charged a Kaua'i physician with prescribing controlled substances without conducting physical examinations or establishing legitimate doctor-patient relationships.If convicted of knowingly and intentionally distributing or dispensing a schedule II dangerous drug, Dr. Harold C. Spear III could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Arrested Friday at his Hanapepe Clinic, Spear made his initial appearance today before Magistrate Leslie Kobayashi in Honolulu. He is being held at the Federal Detention Center pending a bail hearing.
An Alabama investigation into illegal dispensing of prescriptions identified Spear as a suspect in March 2006, federal officials said.
The "dial-a-doc" business operated by Spear conducted telephone consultations and prescribed controlled substances to people without the benefit of face-to-face medical examination, U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo said.
Authorities also determined Spear allowed assistants to complete presigned blank prescriptions in order to refill orders for customers. These assistants were left unsupervised for weeks at a time at the clinic and were high school graduates with no medical training or education, Kubo said.
The investigation also found Spear issued a prescription for nearly 2,000 milligrams of Oxycontin and 600 milligrams of methadone to a patient in April 2005 without the benefit of a medical examination.
