In a case that highlights the ongoing crisis of opioid abuse, a St. Clair Shores doctor has been given a 20-year sentence for his role in a patient's fatal overdose. Dr. Bernard Shelton, 67, faced judgment in Detroit after a trial found him guilty of both causing an overdose death due to his unlawful prescribing practices and on 21 charges related to the distribution of controlled substances. According to The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, the prosecution, which was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Wayne F. Pratt and Lisandra Fernandez-Silber, presented firm evidence that Dr. Shelton had issued prescriptions without a legitimate medical purpose.
The investigation revealed that between April 2013 and December 2016, Dr. Shelton ran a "pill mill," prescribing over 5.5 million doses of controlled substances, including 2.7 million doses of Schedule II narcotics such as oxycodone and hydrocodone. These prescriptions were often for drugs with high street value. Highlighting the egregiousness of these actions, an undercover patient on an initial visit was met with the question, "What can I give you today?" rather than a medical exam, as detailed in a report from ClickOnDetroit. This incident is just one example of how Shelton's practices disregarded patient care in favor of financial gain.
Further illuminating the gravity of the situation, it was found Dr. Shelton began prescribing opioids in 2010 to a patient previously treated with non-narcotic pain relief. Over six years, the patient developed an addiction due to progressively stronger medications being prescribed without proper justification. This culminated in a tragic sequence in January 2016 when the patient overdosed twice within a week; the second incident proved fatal. Dr. Shelton's prescribing practices also contributed to the overdose deaths of two additional patients. Beyond the devastating health impacts, court documents indicate Shelton had pocketed over $1.4 million from Medicare, Medicaid, and Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Michigan during the offense period.
Officials have taken this case as an opportunity to send a firm message to the medical community. "This defendant violated his oath to do no harm to his patients. He prescribed drugs without any medical justification in order to line his own pockets. His actions caused the death of at least one person and contributed to the deaths of two others," U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison stated, as the Eastern District of Michigan's website reports. In a similar vein, DEA Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene emphasized the wider implications, asserting that “This kind of reckless diversion of prescription medication has resulted in unimaginable suffering; the erosion of communities; and has paved a path to the emergence of fake prescription pills." The stance is clear: those responsible for fueling opioid abuse through malpractice will face strict repercussions.
