{"id":43139,"date":"2021-06-23T17:27:22","date_gmt":"2021-06-24T00:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43139"},"modified":"2021-06-23T17:27:22","modified_gmt":"2021-06-24T00:27:22","slug":"doctor-admits-prescribing-hydrocodone-to-patient-that-resulted-in-her-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43139","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Admits Prescribing Hydrocodone to Patient That Resulted in Her Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

TENNESSEE<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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A Tennessee physician pleads guilty Wednesday to causing the death of one of his patients through his illegal prescribing of hydrocodone, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>According to court documents, Thomas K. Ballard III, 63, of Jackson, owned and operated the Ballard Clinic, from which he issued prescriptions for dangerous, addictive controlled pharmaceutical drugs without any legitimate medical purpose. <\/span><\/p>\n

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. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ballard\u2019s treatment records reflected that he believed that a particular patient had psychiatric issues, and that she was abusing her medication, fabricating personal trauma and tampering with drug screens. <\/span><\/p>\n

The records also reflected aberrant drug screens and notations about the patient\u2019s incarceration and receipt of prescriptions elsewhere for suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid dependency disorder.<\/span><\/p>\n

In spite of that history, Ballard prescribed the patient hydrocodone repeatedly, including on May 28, 2015, when Ballard issued her the prescription for the hydrocodone on which she fatally overdosed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBallard has proven himself to be nothing more than a predator in a white lab coat, and he should expect to be punished accordingly,\u201d said Special Agent in Charge J. Todd Scott of the DEA\u2019s Louisville Division. \u201cDoctors take an oath to first do no harm, and instead, Ballard chose to put his own licentious interests above his patients\u2019 well-being.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBallard\u2019s callous disregard for the well-being of his patients and the principles of his profession caused the death of a vulnerable woman and put other lives at risk,\u201d said\u00a0Special Agent in Charge\u00a0Derrick L. Jackson with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). \u201cThe damage he caused is severe and irreparable. HHS-OIG, alongside other law enforcement agencies, works to pursue medical professionals who inflict harm on patients in their care.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Ballard pleaded guilty to a count of illegal drug distribution resulting in death. <\/span><\/p>\n

He will be sentenced to 20 years in prison, the statutory mandatory minimum, on Sept. 21, if the court accepts his plea agreement. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TENNESSEE A Tennessee physician pleads guilty Wednesday to causing the death of one of his patients through his illegal prescribing of hydrocodone, officials stated. According to court documents, Thomas K. Ballard III,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nDoctor Admits Prescribing Hydrocodone to Patient That Resulted in Her Death<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TENNESSEE A Tennessee physician pleads guilty Wednesday to causing the death of one of his patients through his illegal prescribing of hydrocodone,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=43139\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Doctor 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