Following an investigation by the Palm Beach state attorney, Delray pain management doctor, Dr. Barry Schultz, 54, was arrested Thursday and charged with trafficking Oxycodone and unlawful prescription of a controlled substance.
Schultz faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years for each of six
trafficking counts and 15 years for each of six counts of unlawful
prescription of a controlled substance.
The probable cause
affidavit by the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office alleges that Schultz
overprescribed "not only excessive but reckless" amounts of highly
addictive pain management drugs. Pharmacists who alerted authorities of
Schultz's alleged penchant for pushing pills, stated that one customer
presented a prescription for Oxycodone 30mg for 1590 tablets. The
prescription instructed the patient to take one pill every four to six
hours as needed. Following these instructions, a patient would need 180
pills at most, about 10 percent of the prescribed amount.
The
affidavit also states, "A review of the dispensing logs for Schultz
Medical revealed that during the period of March 25, 2010 through May
11, 2010, Schultz Medical dispensed 279 prescriptions of Oxycodone, 89
prescriptions for Alprazolam, 50 prescriptions for Methadone, 19
prescriptions for Hydrocodone, 13 prescriptions for Hydromorphone, and
four prescriptions for Morphine. During this same period, Schultz
Medical dispensed only 52 prescriptions for other medications."
Schwartz
allegedly prescribed 1980 tablets of Oxycodone 30mg to one patient for a
30-day period. Asked to explain this, "His response was that it did not
matter because he was filling the prescription in house," according to the affidavit. Dr. Schultz
said that he eventually discharged this patient and believed he may have
been selling his pain pills.
Schwartz allegedly required his
patients to fill their prescriptions at his "in-house" pharmacy. On the occasions he
did write prescriptions to be filled elsewhere, he would break the
total amount into several prescriptions to avoid drawing attention to
the significantly high amounts of pain pills.
Reviews of Schultz on doctor rating site, vitals.com, detail experiences that speak to the circumstances of his arrest. Here are two excerpts from February:
I found him to be very condescending. He told me I seemed "unhappy" -- had never met me before, encouraged me to try addictive painkiller meds rather than have surgery (contrary to the recommendation of a highly credentialed specialist). Did not say goodbye to me when appointment was finished.
EX-PATIENT...MALPRACTICE...HE IS A "LEGAL" DRUG DEALER BASICALLY
Follow The Juice on Facebook and on Twitter: @TheJuiceBPB.
