Madison Doctor Convicted Of Drug Sales Seeks License Restoration

MADISON, CT — Physician Scott Houghton of Madison may soon have his license to practice medicine reinstated, according to state Department of Public Health and state Medical Examining Board documents.

In April 2011, after a near two-year investigation, Houghton was arrested, accused of over prescribing drugs for patients out of his Old Saybrook practice.

A 39-page criminal complaint outlined the allegations that he exchanged scripts for cash and gift. Houghton faced 47 charges: 30 counts of illegal prescribing of narcotics; 14 counts of illegal prescribing of a controlled substance; two counts of failure to maintain controlled substance records; and one count of failure to maintain security for controlled substance records. In the warrant, Houghton was dubbed "candy man," by some patients.

In 2013, Houghton entered an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to plead guilty while maintaining their innocence. He was convicted of two counts of sale of narcotic hallucinogenic drugs, one count of sale of controlled substance, and one count of failure to secure controlled substance.

Sentenced to serve 7 years in prison, he applied for and received accelerated rehabilitation and no prison time, rather received five years’ probation.

He had his license to practice medicine in Connecticut suspended, and he was stripped of his Drug Enforcement Administration-regulated ability to prescribe controlled substances.

Since his conviction and loss of both his medical license ability to prescribe, he has nonetheless worked in the healthcare field, albeit related to providing consulting services to doctors and hospitals on medical costs, billing, and practice "efficiencies." According to state health department and Medical Examining Board records and his LinkedIn, he was co-owner of CT Healthcare Consultants in Madison, was a consultant with Physician Ancillary Services and co-founded Inbox Health in New Haven.

In 2019, Houghton completed his probationary period, and in April 2020, applied for reinstatement of his physician and surgeon license.

The state Department of Public Health this week asked the Medical Examining Board for support in its recommendation that his license be reinstated.

It's noted by the DPH that Houghton has completed a "re-entry clinical skill evaluation," passed an exam from the Federation of State Medical Boards, and completed Professional Ethics and Boundaries with Patients coursework — more than a dozen courses, records show. He also received professional character reference letters from a Yale doctor and professor and a Middletown surgeon.

In the proposed Reinstatement Consent Order, he'll have a four-year probationary period with a practice supervisor who'll conduct random reviews of patient records, provide reports to the DPH.

And, Houghton will be permanently prohibited from prescribing controlled substances; not be allowed to supervise physician assistants, and he must "only practice in an office and practice setting that regularly physically includes at least one other licensed physician on site."