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YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP, MI – State officials suspended an Ypsilanti- and Flint-area doctor’s medical license on Tuesday, Aug. 29, citing accusations that he overprescribed controlled substances.
Dr. Claude W. Hall was issued a summary suspension, described as a temporary measure to protect the public, according to a release Thursday by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, or LARA.
The suspension is not a final determination that a licensee has violated the Public Health Code, according to the release. The department also filed an administrative complaint against Hall and an order for seizure of controlled substances.
Hall, who has an osteopathic medical practice, is accused of prescribing potentially dangerous combinations of benzodiazepines, opioids and muscle relaxants to patients. A combination of these is known by the street name “Holy Trinity,” according to the complaint.
Hall ranked among Michigan’s highest-volume prescribers of commonly abused and diverted controlled substances in 2016, according to the complaint against him.
Drugs used for “Holy Trinity” combinations made up almost 91 percent of the controlled substances he prescribed from January 2015 to Aug. 17, 2017. He prescribed a total of 8,747 prescription during that time.
“The complaint also alleges that Dr. Hall’s patient records fail to support his prescribing and show little evidence of monitoring patients for abuse and diversion of their medications,” according to the release.
The complaint also states that despite telling investigators that he no longer prescribes a combination of opioids and benzodiazepines, which can cause issues including respirartory depression, he prescribed those combinations to 29 patients since March 6.
Hall has 30 days to respond to the complaint.
He was previously fined in 2009 for prescribing controlled substances without a valid license to do so. At the time, the complaint against him also alleged that he failed to notify the Drug Enforcement Administration of fraudulent prescriptions being used by non-patients without his authorization.
State records show Hall has a Farmington Hills address, but the complaint against him states he had principal offices in Flint and Ypsilanti, and makes home medical visits.
Property records show Hall owns property for commercial use at 850 S. Hewitt Road in Ypsilanti Township.
Hall could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A voicemail message at Hall’s Flint location stated the office was closed indefinitely due to a health condition.