Psych Observer – Exposing Bad Psychiatry

By HEATHER BRYANT, P-I Asst. News Editor

The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners has placed a Paris psychiatrist’s medical license on probation for at least five years.

The board accused Donald Gold of inappropriately prescribing medications to a patient with whom he had a personal relationship.

Dr. Gold’s practice is called Behavioral Medicine and is located on East Wood Street. He is also the medical director of Henry County Medical Center’s Lake Haven psychiatric unit.

A disciplinary action report from the Tennessee Department of Health states Gold attempted to detoxify this patient with methadone without proper certification and without registering with the state.

Methadone is a narcotic drug used for the treatment of pain and to detoxify people addicted to opioids like morphine and heroine.

The report states he was disciplined in March but the information did not become available from the board until May.

As part of his discipline, he was required to have a mental and physical evaluation by the Vanderbilt Comprehensive Assessment Program, and he will have to complete courses on prescribing controlled drugs, boundary issues and medical practice management and will have to pay costs up to $1,500 associated with this case.

Gold came to Paris in 2002 and said after a year and a half he saw that the practice and the Lake Haven position “was not a real good fit for me.”

He said Horizon Medical Corporation (the company that contracted with Henry County Medical Center to bring him here) only allowed one employee to work in the office. So, he took over the practice so he could hire more office employees.

“I had no particular desire to be a free businessman agent … but that’s where I found myself,” he said.

Gold said two employees embezzled close to $100,000 from his office and there were other problems as well.

During this “whirlwind pace” he developed a personal relationship with a woman who later confessed to him that she was addicted to drugs.

Gold said he has always written prescriptions for things such as antibiotics, migraine or thyroid medication if people told him they weren’t able to see their regular doctor.

“I kind of got into this style, ‘You’ve got a problem, let me see what I can do,’” he said.

He wrote methadone prescriptions for the woman he was in a relationship with, and also prescribed the medicine to other patients for detoxification and to treat migraine pain.

“Even though (this woman) was not formally enrolled as a patient and I didn’t even think of her as a patient, to be technically correct when you start prescribing for someone they’re your patient.”

“I did not realize that the federal people and state people had tight regulations on methadone to detox opiate addicts,” he said. “I was totally unaware of (the regulations) so I just crossed the line.”

Gold said he was completely cooperative with investigators two years ago when they questioned him about the methadone prescriptions. He said he has not prescribed methadone since that time, especially since a local pain management center has opened in Paris where patients can receive treatment for pain.

“If I know what the area of the law is, I’m happy to comply with it,” said Gold. “I’m not one of those people who like to skirt the edge … I like to play by the rules.”

“I’ve said to myself, ‘How could I have done that? How could I have been so stupid?’,” he said. “If I had it to do over again, sure I would do things differently … I’ve got a wonderful wife now who has been very supportive through all of this.”

A statement from Tom Gee, HCMC administrator, reads, “It is a disappointment to learn of the probation placed on Dr. Gold’s license. We believe that Dr. Gold’s intent was to help another person and was not malicious in intent, even though the situation was a lapse in judgment. We believe this misstep in judgment is a lesson learned for Dr. Gold and though not excusable, does not reflect the quality of care this physician provides to the community and region day after day.

“We believe that Dr. Gold will fulfill the terms of his probation. The organization will continue to monitor the situation as well as his license, which is done every month on every physician, to ensure that our patients are receiving quality care.”

URL: http://www.parispi.net/articles/2008/06/03/news/
local_news/doc48457af2e53cb272432154.txt