MA Doctor Charged In Patient's Opioid Death

DRACUT, MA – A Massachusetts doctor whose patient died of an overdose in 2016 has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, Attorney General Maura Healey said. Richard Miron, 76, who has a practice in Dracut, has also been charged with 23 counts each of illegal prescribing of controlled substances and filing false claims for Medicaid reimbursement.

It is the first time an opioid prescriber has been charged with manslaughter in Massachusetts, according to the Boston Globe.

Authorities allege Miron was responsible for the death of a patient on March 17, 2016. Her death was caused by a combination of fentanyl, morphine, codeine and butalbital, all of which Miron prescribed, the AG's office said.

Investigators believe Miron knew the woman had overdosed a month earlier on opioids he prescribed, yet he continued to prescribe large doses until eight days before her death.

The attorney general's office said it found other instances of Miron, who ranked as the largest provider of high dose, short acting oxycodone prescriptions among all MassHealth providers in Massachusetts, prescribing opioids to patients for no legitimate medical purpose.

"Drug screens ordered and reviewed by Dr. Miron indicated that many patients were negative for prescribed opioids and positive for cocaine, heroin or other non-prescribed opioids, but Dr. Miron allegedly continued to prescribe opioids to those patients," Healey's office said in a statement. "The illegal prescriptions Dr. Miron allegedly wrote caused pharmacies to unwittingly falsely bill MassHealth for the medication."

Miron is not currently practicing medicine. He will be arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court at a later date.

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