South Jersey Doctor's License Revoked Over Prescription Drugs: Attorney General

A Merchantville doctor perceived to be an ‘easy mark’ for drug-seeking patients has had his license revoked by the New Jersey State Board of Medical Examiners.

The license of Dr. Adam C. Gilliss was revoked after the board decided he endangered his patients and the public through his negligent prescribing of addictive painkillers.

“The authority to make controlled painkillers available to patients is truly a life and death responsibility,” Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said. “Doctors who abuse this authority, either through greed or negligence, should be removed from practice.”

Gilliss must wait at least two years before applying for the reinstatement of his medical license. He also must pay the state $50,000, including a $30,000 civil penalty and $20,000 reimbursement of the state’s investigative and legal costs.

Among other things, Gillis must first complete Board-approved training and evaluations, and appear before a committee of the Board to demonstrate his fitness to resume practice.

However, Gilliss’ New Jersey authority to prescribe controlled dangerous substances (CDS) is permanently revoked.

Gilliss’ medical license had been temporarily suspended since July 2014, following a hearing by a committee of the Board of Medical Examiners on an administrative complaint filed by the Attorney General.

At the time, the committee noted that Gilliss “knew that he was perceived to be an ‘easy mark’ for drug-seeking patients, but took no measures to alter his lax practices” until he became aware the Board was investigating him through the Division’s Enforcement Bureau.

He allegedly prescribed potentially addictive narcotic painkillers to multiple patients, for lengthy periods of time, without adequately evaluating the patients’ risk of drug dependency or to determine whether use of the drugs was medically necessary or justified.

The State alleged that Gilliss’ conduct with regard to each of the seven patients constituted gross negligence and professional or occupational misconduct, put the patients at risk for opioid overuse and dependency, and/or facilitated the patients’ possible diversion of CDS.

“His untethered opiate prescribing … placed each patient at a significant risk of harm,” the Board said in its consent order to have his license revoked.

It also said he demonstrated “a fundamental absence of judgment … along with a consistent pattern of compromised and dangerous practices” that created a “profound risk of harm” for patients and/or the public.

“The Board of Medical Examiners has acted to prevent this doctor from ever again contributing to the epidemic of opiate abuse,” Division of Consumer Affairs Acting Director Steve Lee said. “This is a vital part of our fight to prevent addiction, overdose, and the suffering they cause.”