Jury Finds Doctor Not Guilty

Ending a long-standing case that had gained national attention, a Redding jury late Wednesday found Dr. Frank Fisher not guilty of improperly prescribing painkillers and submitting fraudulent medical claims.

The case against Fisher, a Harvard University medical graduate who ran a clinic for the rural poor in Shasta County, was among some federal and state cases that had been described by government critics and medical groups as a war against doctors who prescribe pain medications.

The state’s investigation into Fisher began in 1996, and prosecutors charged Fisher in 1999 with five murders involving his patients who were being treated with painkillers, including Oxycontin. All of the murder charges, along with other felony counts, were either withdrawn or dismissed during trial.

State prosecutors mounted a second case against Fisher in 1998, charging him with 99 felony counts of medical fraud in connection with Medi-Cal claims and improper prescriptions of painkillers. All but eight misdemeanor counts for improper billing were dismissed earlier this year.

“It is a profound relief,” said Fisher, 50. “Prescribing opioids for pain is the most dangerous thing a doctor can do, particularly if he treats poor people.”

The California Department of Justice, which handled the Fisher case, declined to comment Wednesday.

State and federal law enforcement agencies, led by the Drug Enforcement Administration, have been increasing investigations and prosecutions of doctors for improper use of opioids, including Oxycontin, Vicodin and other opium-based painkillers.

The Bush administration doubled licensing fees on doctors and drug manufacturers last year to help fund enforcement efforts, saying that there was a national epidemic of drug abuse involving prescription painkillers. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration estimates that more than 6 million Americans abuse painkillers, more than those who use cocaine.

In late 2003, the Justice Department launched its highest profile case in the campaign, charging Dr. William E. Hurwitz, a Stanford University medical doctor who also holds a law degree, with improper prescriptions of opioids.

But medical groups and academic experts rallied to Hurwitz’s cause, as well as Fisher’s. David Brushwood, a national expert on painkiller abuse and a pharmacology professor at the University of Florida, said the Hurwitz and Fisher prosecutions were evidence of an unbalanced campaign by government agencies against doctors. The American Academy of Family Physicians, a group of 94,000 local doctors, has said that because of such prosecutions its members have been increasingly fearful of writing prescriptions for patients in serious pain.

Fisher said he had lost everything in his legal battle, including his medical clinic, and has lived with his parents in the Bay Area for the last five years. He added that state prosecutors were probably not through with him. A complaint is pending before the California Medical Board over his medical license.