South Jersey Doctor 32nd NJ Physician To Lose Job In Statewide Opioid Crackdown

A New Jersey psychiatrist has become the 32nd physician in recent months to lose his job in a statewide opioid crackdown.

A Burlington County psychiatrist has lost his license after prescribing tens of thousands of dosage units of opioids to two patients while not abiding by the state's rules for chronic pain prescribing, according to a release from Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino and the Division of Consumer Affairs.

Joel B. Glass, who had a practice in Marlton, has been ordered by the State Board of Medical Examiners to turn over his medical license, his federal Drug Enforcement Administration and his New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances registrations, and to cease practicing medicine and writing prescriptions, according to the release.

The board’s action also was spurred by a referral from the Vermont Board of Medical Practice.

An investigation by the Division of Consumer Affairs Enforcement Bureau and DEA uncovered evidence that, for one patient, Glass allegedly prescribed large amounts of highly addictive substances, such as oxycodone and diazepam, for several years.

Watch: Why Are Opioids So Addictive?

“The patient could not have taken all the drugs allegedly prescribed to him by this doctor and survived,” said Porrino.

Many of the prescriptions were actually filled in Morrisville, Vermont. Glass continued to prescribe the drugs, even after several monitoring agencies and peer reviews had flagged the dosages as excessive and/or inappropriate, according to the complaint filed against him.

In 2013, for example, Glass allegedly prescribed 7,560 units of 30-milligram oxycodone, but despite all the prescriptions, Glass’ patient notes did not indicate any physical examinations of the patient, according to the verified complaint.

The complaint also alleges that there were fewer than five pages of handwritten notes and no notes at all for October and November of that year.

In a second case cited in the complaint, Glass is alleged to have prescribed “dramatically high quantities” of oxycodone to a 43-year-old woman without documenting any physical or diagnostic tests. The complaint alleges there was a “dearth of evidence supporting these prescriptions.”

Under the push to rein in problem prescribers, state officials said an unprecedented number of doctors saw their practicing authority revoked, suspended or otherwise restricted for allegedly putting the public at risk in 2016 and 2017.

The crackdown on problem prescribers was part of the state’s multi-pronged strategy to combat the ongoing heroin and opioid addiction crisis plaguing New Jersey and the nation.

The discipline measures sought by Porrino were carried out by the State Board of Medical Examiners within the Division of Consumer Affairs.

The actions filed with the board resulted in at least eight license revocations, five long-term suspensions and one voluntary retirement that settled allegations against doctors, including:

• Mohamed Kawam Jabakji, known as “Dr. Kawam,” who practiced in Prospect Park. The Board of Medical Examiners revoked Kawam’s license in April after finding he prescribed painkillers, including oxycodone, percocet and codeine, to at least six patients without proper medical justification. Kawam demonstrated gross negligence in failing to routinely screen his patients, even when they exhibited clear drug-seeking and doctor-shopping diversionary behavior, according to the state’s allegations.
• Kenneth Lewandowski, who owned a pain management center in Red Bank. The Board of Medical Examiners revoked Lewandowski’s license in April after he was criminally convicted in a prescription drug distribution ring while suspended from practicing medicine. The board suspended Lewandowski’s license in April 2014 after learning he had been arrested three times and charged with driving while intoxicated, over the course of less than two months. Five months later, Lewandowski was arrested as part of a joint investigation into a suspected prescription drug ring. He subsequently pleaded guilty to distributing or dispensing oxycodone.

Read more: 31 N.J. Doctors Lost Jobs In Statewide Opioid Crackdown

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