A Kentucky doctor has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison after pleading guilty to improperly prescribing powerful painkillers.
The Lexington Herald-Leader reports that Clella Louise Hayes had three patients who died of drug overdoses, according to federal court documents. State police began investigating Hayes after receiving complaints. An officer found a significant amount of drugs that originated with Hayes' prescriptions were diverted to the black market.
U.S. Attorney John E. Kuhn Jr. says in a release that Hayes acknowledged she failed to establish legitimate diagnoses, consider risk factors and take into account inconsistencies in urine tests reflecting drug abuse. An autopsy of one patient revealed levels of oxycodone and hydrocodone 10 times the therapeutic dose.