She was a pain specialist to top athletes. Her opioid prescribing alarmed the DEA
Summary
Joan Rubinger, a nurse practitioner who treated many top athletes for pain, was accused by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of illegally prescribing large amounts of addictive painkillers. She settled a federal case by paying $1.4 million and agreed to stop prescribing controlled substances, after authorities said she gave out hundreds of thousands of pills without proper medical reasons.Key Facts
- Joan Rubinger helped many famous athletes, including Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, with pain relief.
- The DEA said she prescribed 260,000 pills with controlled substances over four years to patients in over 20 states.
- Rubinger settled a Justice Department complaint by paying $1.4 million but did not admit wrongdoing.
- The DEA revoked her authority to prescribe opioids after finding serious misconduct.
- Rubinger allegedly gave illegal prescriptions to a wide range of clients, including gang members and drug traffickers.
- She used encrypted messaging apps to help clients avoid detection by pharmacies.
- Former NFL player Thomas Davis was among those who received excessive opioid prescriptions from Rubinger.
- Davis’s wife alerted authorities about Rubinger’s prescribing practices.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
