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Doctor Loses Medical License

By Elizabeth Simpson
The Virginian-Pilot
© January 28, 2009

Dr. Stephen Plotnick, a Virginia Beach physician accused of contributing to a series of patients' deaths by improperly prescribing and monitoring powerful painkillers, has agreed to surrender his medical license for at least two years.

In a consent order filed with the Virginia Board of Medicine on Tuesday, Plotnick also agreed that if he wants his license reinstated, he will be required to go before the board to prove his competence and he will not be allowed to treat chronic-pain patients.

Plotnick had been scheduled to appear before the board today for a formal hearing about the status of his license, which was suspended Aug. 6. He agreed to the consent order in lieu of the hearing.

"Given the adverse publicity surrounding the anticipated hearing, and not wishing to subject his family to any further public scrutiny, he decided that the Consent Order would represent a compromise between what he wanted and what the Board might seek," his attorney, Michael Goodman, said in an e-mail Tuesday.

The board can take a variety of actions against a doctor, including revoking a license, suspending it, requiring corrective action, issuing a reprimand or monetary penalty, or placing limits on a practice.

Plotnick, who has practiced in Virginia since 1993, treated thousands of local patients for chronic pain. He specialized in fibromyalgia, a little-understood disorder characterized by widespread pain and heightened sensitivity to touch. He was known for his aggressive treatment and often prescribed powerful narcotics.

In addition to the Board of Medicine's complaints against him, Plotnick has been named as a defendant in six malpractice lawsuits, one of which has been settled.

The board alleged that Plotnick failed to document treatment plans and repeatedly renewed prescriptions without examinations.

He also was accused of neglecting to require written contracts with his patients who were taking narcotics and not dismissing patients for noncompliance. He continued to prescribe medications even though patients had exhibited suicidal thoughts and after family members told him that their relatives were overmedicated.

The board's records detail the deaths of five patients between 2004 and 2008 from overdoses or toxic mixtures of drugs prescribed by Plotnick. In one case, a patient came to his office, "confused, falling down, exhibiting slurred speech, was 'zombie-like' and complained that all she did was sleep."

That patient died later the same month from a combination of drugs Plotnick had prescribed.

"I neither admit nor deny the truth of the above Findings of Fact, but agree not to contest the above findings in any future proceeding before the Board," Plotnick's consent order reads.

He is required to notify all his patients of his suspension, as well as any hospitals or health insurance companies he does medical business with.

The order notes that Plotnick already has taken action to get more education on pain management and record keeping. He completed a three-day seminar in August on "boundary violations and accountability" in New Jersey.

He also attended a two-day seminar in October on interpersonal skills and improving communication with patients.

Goodman said there were numerous patients, friends and colleagues who were supportive and willing to testify on Plotnick's behalf at the formal hearing.

"He is a very compassionate man who, despite the pejorative allegations, truly cares about his patients," Goodman wrote in his e-mail. "While a Board hearing would have given him the opportunity to articulate his position on pain management and treatment in general, and specific to each case, he recognizes that the use of controlled substances to treat chronic and oftentimes intractable pain is both controversial and often misunderstood."

A message left on Plotnick's home telephone Tuesday was not returned.

Some former patients have said he saved them from years of debilitating pain and his prescriptions helped them live normal lives. One comment on an online chat group read, "He truly cares, he listens, he works with you."

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