Doctor enters plea in drug case
NORRISTOWN >> A former Hatfield Township doctor put his fate in the hands of a judge after he entered a no contest plea to charges he unlawfully prescribed opioid drugs to patients.
Lawrence Ian Miller, 49, whose practice was located in the 1000 of Walnut Street in Hatfield, pleaded no contest in Montgomery County Court to felony charges of unlawful prescribing of controlled substances in connection with incidents that occurred between June 2013 and June 2018.
A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is an admission that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to prove the charges at trial.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein deferred sentencing so that court officials can complete a background investigation report about Miller, of the 1100 block of Grenoble Road, Warminster, Bucks County. Miller remains free on bail pending sentencing.
As a condition of bail, Miller is not to practice medicine and had to forfeit his license for prescribing controlled substances.
Other charges of corrupt organizations and criminal use of a communication facility will be dismissed against Miller at time of sentencing, according to court documents.
Assistant District Attorney James E. Price II is handling the prosecution. Defense lawyer Brian J. McMonagle represents Miller.
With the charges, authorities alleged an investigation revealed that drug dependent people became attracted to Miller’s practice after he prescribed large amounts of controlled substances to patients with little or no other medical treatment. Detectives said they received information about Miller from confidential informants and concerned relatives of those addicted to narcotics.
“Many of these individuals identified by law enforcement were drug dependent persons. Many patients exhibited clear signs of their addiction to Dr. Miller while some directly informed him of their substance abuse issues, but Dr. Miller persisted in prescribing controlled substances,” Hatfield Township Detective Richard F. Hoffner alleged in the criminal complaint.
Detectives also contacted the county coroner’s office and learned that nine of Miller’s patients had died of overdoses. Police pointed out that although most died from a combination of drugs, including street drugs, the individuals had received prescriptions from Miller near the time of their deaths.
Detectives alleged that in some cases, Miller would issue single prescriptions of more than 500 pills of opioid painkillers and that he would prescribe medication without evaluating the patients.
While conducting surveillance at Miller’s office, detectives identified patients who were selling their prescribed oxycodone medication, according to the criminal complaint.
“One patient who was consistently prescribed oxycodone by Dr. Miller was stopped by law enforcement after leaving his office with obvious physical signs of drug addiction including visible track marks on both arms,” Hoffner alleged in the arrest affidavit.
In June 2018, detectives armed with a warrant searched Miller’s family practice and seized patient files and other evidence “which showed Dr. Miller was over prescribing controlled substances to his patients and prescribing controlled substances to drug dependent persons,” according to court documents.
“Many of these patient files detail how Dr. Miller would write patients numerous controlled substances on a monthly basis but would not examine the patient for extended periods of time,” Hoffner alleged. “In one case, a patient, who later died of a drug overdose, had no examinations for a year despite being prescribed large amount of methadone and benzodiazepines monthly during that same period.”
“Many of these individuals identified by law enforcement were drug dependent persons.”
- Hatfield Detective Richard F. Hoffner