Doctor’s arrest part of state’s crackdown

Cox accused of overprescribing opioids, lying to investigators

A Northwest Arkansas doctor facing criminal charges is the latest arrest in a statewide effort to prosecute doctors accused of overprescribing opioids.

Robin

Ann Cox, 63, was arrested Tuesday and pleaded not guilty Wednesday to overprescribing opioids and lying to investigators.

A federal grand jury indicted Cox, who practiced at Arkansas Medical Clinic, 615 W. Oak St. in Rogers, on one count of prescribing without a legitimate medical purpose outside the scope of a professional practice and one count of willfully and knowingly making a false statement to federal investigators.

She’s free on a $10,000 bond, Charlie Robbins, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office, said Thursday.

Dr. Lonnie Joseph Parker of Texarkana was arrested earlier this month. A federal grand jury indicted Parker on nine counts of prescribing without a legitimate medical purpose outside the scope of a professional practice.

Dr. Donald Hinderliter, who worked at Hinderliter Pain Clinic in Barling, pleaded guilty in September to illegally distributing a controlled substance, according to court documents.

“Hinderliter prescribed opioids and benzodiazepines to more than 150 individuals, often times not for a

legitimate medical purpose and not in the usual course of professional practice,” according to his plea agreement.

Duane “Dak” Kees, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, said the more doctors are prosecuted for overprescribing opioids, the more doctors, nurses and pharmacists tip off investigators about whom they suspect are overprescribing.

“Lawyers know who the bad lawyers are. Doctors know who the bad doctors are,” Kees said. “You know who the questionable people are in your profession.”

Investigators consider several factors to determine if doctors are overprescribing, Kees said. They look at whether doctors run proper tests on patients and try alternative treatments before prescribing opioids. If doctors prescribe opioids easily upon request, that’s a problem, Kees said.

Investigators also look at whether doctors keep proper records of how much medication they prescribe and to whom and whether patients travel long distances to see the doctors for opioid prescriptions.

How many opioids doctors prescribe, for what and under what circumstances are generally factors, he said.

“Meeting them at a restaurant is a red flag,” Kees said.

Cox is accused of distributing oxycodone without a prescription and telling a special agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration a prescription written “in the name of D.S.” and signed by her May 19 was forged and fraudulent, according to her indictment.

“The statement and representation was false because, as Robin Cox then and there knew, she had written and signed the prescription in the name of D.S. and given it to D.S. at a fast food restaurant on May 19, 2019.”

Investigators found Cox prescribed 214,050 tablets of oxycodone from May 2018 to September 2019, and 90% of patients she prescribed controlled substances to during that time received a prescription for at least one opioid, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office.

The Arkansas State Medical Board voted unanimously Wednesday to suspend Cox’s medical license in an emergency order because of “her prescribing issues,” said Kevin O’Dwyer, attorney for the board.

The board had been investigating Cox for several months and plans to have a disciplinary hearing in December, O’Dwyer said. Cox’s license could be revoked at that time. However, doctors facing criminal charges typically ask the board to postpone disciplinary hearings, he said.

Cox also has medical licenses in Iowa and North Dakota. Her Iowa license was issued December 2004 and expires Friday, according to the Iowa Board of Medicine. Her North Dakota license was issued in March 2009 and expires Nov. 6, according to the North Dakota Board of Medicine. She also had a temporary license in North Dakota from January to March 2009.

Cox was also granted a license in August 2015 in Nebraska, which expired in October 2016. She had a license in New Mexico from December 2014 to September 2015, when it expired.

Cox graduated from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences with a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree in September 1982, a spokeswoman for the school confirmed.

Attempts to reach Cox on Tuesday and Thursday were unsuccessful.

Cheryl May, director of the Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute, told a conference earlier this month there were 426 drug overdose deaths in Arkansas during 2018, according to statistics provided by the Arkansas Department of Health.