A Tennessee physician was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids that caused the death of one of his patients.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, Thomas K. Ballard III, 63, of Jackson, a medical doctor, owned and operated the Ballard Clinic, where he “prescribed controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose. Among other things, Ballard engaged in inappropriate sexual contact with several female patients while he ignored red flags that they were abusing the medications he prescribed. These abuses were often reflected in Ballard\u2019s own medical records.”<\/p>\n
Ballard\u2019s prescribing to one patient led to her death. Ballard\u2019s treatment records indicated that he believed the patient had psychiatric issues, overutilized medication, had engaged in manipulation, and fabricated personal trauma. The records also reflected that the patient had been incarcerated, received prescriptions elsewhere for Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid dependency disorder, and that she had abnormal drug testing results, including because of what Ballard believed was tampering. Nevertheless, Ballard prescribed the patient hydrocodone repeatedly, including on May 28, 2015. She fatally overdosed on the prescription drug the following day. On June 23, 2021, Ballard pleaded guilty to one count of illegal drug distribution resulting in death.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s sentence reflects the gravity of physicians causing death by illegally prescribing opioids,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department\u2019s Criminal Division. \u201cLoss of life is a tragic outcome of physicians like Ballard acting as drug dealers instead of doctors. Those responsible for fatal overdoses \u2013 especially those who are in positions of trust like Ballard \u2013 must be held accountable for their roles in the opioid epidemic. This serious criminal conduct requires serious consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWith blatant disregard for the Hippocratic Oath, Ballard endangered his patients\u2019 lives through illegitimate and reckless prescribing,\u201d said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). \u201cDEA tirelessly pursues the people responsible for flooding our nation with illegal drugs, to include doctors who misuse their positions for personal gain. Those who supply opioids illegally have one thing in common: they demonstrate total disregard for the lives and safety of those who live in our communities. DEA will continue to battle the U.S. opioid epidemic one case at a time, and today\u2019s sentencing demonstrates our commitment to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPhysicians are entrusted to care for patients and prescribe medically necessary medications. The death of a vulnerable woman exemplifies the devastating impact of Ballard\u2019s disregard for his patients and profession,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). \u201cWorking closely with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG will continue to hold accountable medical professionals whose illicit activities endanger the lives of patients in their care.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s extremely disappointing to see a member of the medical community totally disregard his Hippocratic Oath,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge Terry Reed of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Medicaid Fraud Division. \u201cBallard put his patients at risk in order to satisfy his greed and will now spend time in federal prison for recklessly prescribing highly addictive and powerful opioids. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and its law enforcement partners will continue to expose the greed and deceit taking precedence over patient care.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A Tennessee physician was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids that caused the death of one of his patients. According to court documents, Thomas K. Ballard III, 63, of Jackson, a medical doctor, owned and operated the Ballard Clinic, where he “prescribed controlled substances outside the scope of professional practice […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3507,"featured_media":165071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[1,54],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n