Article published June 24, 2009
Physician in drug probe gives up right to prescribe
By ERICA BLAKE
BLADE STAFF WRITER
One month after federal and local law enforcement searched his office as part of an ongoing "prescription mill" investigation, a local physician surrendered his Drug Enforcement Administration registration license and can no longer prescribe painkillers.
Darrell Hall voluntarily relinquished the license on Friday, a DEA spokesman confirmed yesterday.
Without the license, Dr. Hall no longer can "prescribe, dispense, and/or administer controlled substances," said Rich Isaacson, a special agent with the Detroit Field Division.
However, it does not affect Dr. Hall's ability to practice medicine or see patients, his attorney said.
As of yesterday, no criminal charges had been filed against Dr. Hall or his staff. Mr. Isaacson said the investigation is ongoing.
"He's got a thriving practice," said Kenneth Phillips, one of Dr. Hall's attorneys. "He can still maintain his patients, and for those with medication needs, he would refer them to pain management centers."According to court documents filed May 13 in U.S. District Court in Toledo, Dr. Hall's practice had been the subject of a lengthy investigation that began in January, 2007.
That was when Toledo police first contacted federal investigators with information that Dr. Hall was allegedly a "large prescriber" of addictive medications.
Specifically, Dr. Hall was suspected of prescribing medications "for no legitimate medical purpose" such as OxyContin and Percocet, which have high potential for addiction and abuse, federal documents said.
Investigators seized 84 pieces of evidence during a May 14 search of Dr. Hall's office at 316 North Michigan St., according to the search warrant filed in federal court. Included among the items taken were boxes of patient charts, computer equipment, and other medical and billing paperwork.
According to an affidavit filed by a Drug Enforcement Agency investigator before the search, law enforcement personnel and informants would pose as patients in undercover visits to Dr. Hall's office from April, 2007, to September, 2008.
The affidavit, which is a summary of the investigation and was used to establish probable cause for a search warrant, alleged that Dr. Hall had "prescribed controlled substances for other than legitimate medical reasons. …"
Dr. Hall is also under investigation for submitting false billings to the Ohio Medicaid program, the document said.
Dr. Hall, who oversees EDM Health Service, received his Ohio medical license in 1997. He was suspended from practicing medicine April 11, 2001, after admitting to the State Medical Board of Ohio that he was chemically dependent on alcohol, OxyContin, and Phenergan.
The board agreed to reinstate his license Aug. 14, 2002, subject to probationary terms, which included drug screens. On Oct. 10, 2007, Dr. Hall's probation was completed, according to Ohio's license center Web site.
He oversees medical offices on Michigan Street and also at 653 Miami St.
Mr. Phillips, the attorney, said Dr. Hall has cooperated fully with federal investigators, and will continue to serve "an area of the population that others are not serving."
He said they have been in negotiations with pain management centers to ensure that all patients' needs are met.
"His patients are loyal to him," he said. "This is a good man."
Contact Erica Blake at:
eblake@theblade.com
or 419-213-2134.
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