Traveling doctor charged with writing fraudulent prescriptions for himself

On July 22, Dr. J. O’Shea, 68, a general surgeon, was charged with misdemeanor counts of identity theft, forgery and violating the Pharmacy Act. The offense date is listed as June 12, 2017 on all charges.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, an agent with the Pennsylvania Office Attorney General Bureau of Narcotics and Drug Control was contacted by a pharmacist at Martin’s Pharmacy in DuBois on Dec. 5, 2018.

The pharmacist reportedly told the agent that the pharmacy was presented with a prescription on Dec. 4, 2018 for Modafinil in the name of John O’Shea. When the pharmacist searched the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program for the patient’s name, it was discovered O’Shea had, during the previous year, reportedly filled overlapping prescriptions for Modafinil and Armodafinil from three different prescribers at pharmacies in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida and Nevada.

The affidavit said generic Modafinil (Provigil) and generic Armodafinil (Nuvigil) are approved by the FDA to treat narcolepsy and shift work sleep disorder. Both drugs are non-controlled substances in Pennsylvania but are scheduled federally as a Schedule IV. The pharmacist told the agent that the two drugs should not be taken simultaneously as doing so would increase overdose symptoms such as trouble sleeping, restlessness, confusion, disorientation, feeling excited, mania, hallucinations, nausea, chest pain and increased blood pressure.

Through further investigation, the agent found that O’Shea was reportedly receiving prescriptions for the two drugs from a doctor in DuBois, one in Washington D.C. and one in Raleigh, N.C., as well as others, the affidavit said.

It was discovered that O’Shea was a co-worker of the doctor in DuBois from whom he apparently received prescriptions, the affidavit said.

On March 12, the agent met with the DuBois doctor at his office concerning the prescriptions written to O’Shea. The doctor was shown copies of the prescriptions and asked to determine if he had written and/or authorized them. The doctor acknowledged the signatures on the four prescriptions were his, the affidavit said. However, he said the signature and the other writing on the prescriptions were not his handwriting. After looking at the four prescriptions, the doctor stated he only recalled signing one or two prescriptions for O’Shea. He said O’Shea asked him to sign one prescription for him. According to the doctor, he asked O’Shea what it was for and was it a controlled substance. O’Shea reportedly told him he needed the prescription to treat his skin psoriasis and that it was for a non-controlled drug.

On March 14, the doctor called the agent and reiterated that he only recalled authorizing/signing one prescription for O’Shea and said that occurred over a year earlier, the affidavit said. The doctor could not understand how there could be four prescriptions to O’Shea with his signature on them. The doctor provided a typed statement through his attorney indicating he only authorized one or two prescriptions for O’Shea.

The affidavit said that both doctors were traveling doctors who only worked at the DuBois hospital for approximately 10 days each month on rotation.

On March 29, O’Shea reportedly met with agents to speak with them regarding his prescriptions. O’Shea reportedly said he takes the two drugs because of shift work. He told the agent he was aware they are a central nervous system stimulant, the affidavit said.

O’Shea reportedly told the agent the recommended and maximum doses of the two drugs were 200 mg per day for Modafinil and 250 mg per day for Armodafinil. He advised that in 2018 he was taking approximately 800 mg per day. He said he believes he became dependent on the drug and achieved a high tolerance. He allegedly said he took three to four pills per shift.

When asked how many times he wrote a prescription for Modafinil including the instructions and then had the other DuBois doctor sign it, O’Shea said it occurred one time. He was asked if any of the doctors who prescribed him Modafinil were aware that he was receiving prescriptions for the drug from any other physicians and he said, “No.”

The agent reportedly asked O’Shea if he was aware of the meaning of the phrase “doctor shopping” he responded affirmatively, the affidavit said. When asked if he was purposely not telling the other physicians about one another because he was doctor shopping due to his “need” for the drug, O’Shea reportedly agreed and stated, “It got out of hand.”

The other two doctors also told the agent they were unaware O’Shea was receiving prescriptions from other doctors. Both said that, had they known O’Shea was being prescribed the two drugs by any other doctors, they would not have prescribed them for him.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 13 at Ford’s office.

When contacted for comment by the Courier Express Tuesday, Dave Trudell, Penn Highlands System Director, Communications, said, “Dr. John O’Shea is part of a contracted physician group that provides on-call services for emergency surgeries at Penn Highlands DuBois. He is no longer working at Penn Highlands.”