Doctor appeals license revocation

TULSA — A longtime Tulsa doctor who filed an appeal with the Oklahoma Supreme Court to get his medical license back said he will not seek reinstatement as a doctor if the appeal fails.

Walter Jay Exon, who had practiced medicine in Tulsa for more than 40 years, was accused of prescribing medication without sufficient examination, excessive prescribing and improper management of medical records, allegations he denies. The Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision voted last week to revoke his license to protect the public health and safety.

Exon specialized in developmental-behavioral pediatrics and child and adolescent psychiatry at Tulsa Behavioral Medicine, according to his profile on healthgrades.com. According to the Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure and Supervision, he is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.

Exon, 71, told the Tulsa World this week that he and his attorney filed an emergency application in hopes of speeding up the appeal process because his 1,100 patients “have been abandoned.”

“I’m totally mystified as to why the board took the action it did,” Exon said.

The board’s executive director said Exon can seek reinstatement after a year, noting that the board did not make the revocation permanent, though Exon said that if it came to that, he likely would not seek reinstatement.

“After a year, my patients are going to be transferred to somebody else, I’m sure,” he said. “A year is just too long to go without medical privileges.”

Responding to the accusation of prescribing without sufficient examination, Exon said each new patient he takes on is subject to a onehour interview. Followup patients go through 30-minute interviews.

“I would never prescribe a medication without seeing a patient,” Exon said. “I don’t know where that’s coming from.”

The state’s expert witness, Dr. John Raizen, said Exon’s prescriptions exceeded FDA dosage recommendations.

Raizen said that in his practice, he had never seen the “massive dosages” that Exon had prescribed to some patients. He said Exon was “too liberal” and “not safe in his practices” and also failed to properly assess patients.

The board also said Exon improperly managed medical records. Exon said he and his office staff do not keep records electronically but rather use hand-written notes for the bulk of record keeping.

Asked whether he thinks his appeal has a chance of succeeding, Exon said he’s optimistic: “Let’s just say this: I’m hopeful. You just never know.”