Doctor banned for prescribing drugs to patient, then buying them back

A doctor who prescribed a vulnerable patient addictive pain medication and bought it back off them for his own use has been banned from practising for a year, a tribunal has ruled.

South Australian GP Richard Taverner, 43, also prescribed drugs in the names of his relatives for his own personal use over several months in 2018 and 2019 and failed to accurately record his consultations with the patient.

The Medical Board of Australia referred a complaint about the doctor to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which found Dr Taverner's conduct "fell significantly below" what was expected of a GP.

"The conduct was egregious because it entailed the exploitation of a patient over a lengthy period of time," the tribunal said in its decision.

"At all times, the [doctor] knew that what he was doing was wrong."

According to a tribunal decision published online, Dr Taverner took on a difficult to manage patient who was dependent on prescription medication in mid-2018, and disclosed to the patient that he personally had "abused various drugs of addiction".

"During a consultation, the [doctor] disclosed to the patient that the respondent also had a history of drug abuse," the decision said.

The tribunal noted that in about mid-2019 Dr Taverner entered an arrangement with the patient where he would prescribe oxycodone — an addictive and tightly controlled opioid medication — which the patient would have dispensed at a pharmacy.

"The patient would then give the oxycodone to the [doctor]," the tribunal decision said.

"The [doctor] would provide the patient with cash to pay for the prescription, and the patient would retain any change for his own use."

The tribunal found that "arrangement" amounted to "professional misconduct".

"It was dangerous to the patient, and to himself. It endured over a lengthy period of time," the tribunal said.

GP 'failed to maintain accurate or adequate clinical records'

The tribunal said that "contrary to recommendations" Drug and Alcohol Services South Australia made in letters to Dr Taverner, he continued to prescribe sedative and anxiety medications to the patient "at a frequency that was greater than clinically appropriate" while knowing the patient had a history of opioid dependence.

It also found Dr Taverner misappropriated oxycodone for personal use from a medication store at the practice where he then worked, and had "failed to maintain accurate or adequate clinical records" by deleting prescriptions from the patient's clinical records.

On other occasions, he "falsified a presentation of a severe migraine requiring the prescription" and inaccurately recorded consultations with the patient, including failing to record his assessment of the patient's mental health.

"These failures occurred due to the respondent intending to prevent anyone from discovering his arrangement with the patient, and because he knew prescribing oxycodone to the patient was wrong," the tribunal said.

GP 'took full responsibility'

The tribunal noted the board had placed restrictions on Dr Taverner upon learning of the allegations in June 2022, and he had not returned a single positive result while he had been subject of an "intense regime of drug testing".

It also noted he "took full responsibility for his failures", had insight into his vulnerability and had told the tribunal he was "ashamed" he had not provided the patient with proper care.

"The tribunal finds that [Dr Taverner] does not now pose a risk to the public because of the supports he has in place to reduce the risk of relapse," the tribunal said.

The tribunal reprimanded Dr Taverner, cancelled his registration last month and disqualified him from applying to re-register for a year.

It said a longer ban would have been imposed had the doctor "not so successfully rehabilitated from his addiction". It also noted he had successfully worked part-time as a general practitioner for almost four years since the conduct occurred.