Bergen Psychiatrist Illegally Prescribed Drugs To Patients: Attorney General

A Bergen County psychiatrist agreed to have his license temporarily suspended amid allegations he "indiscriminately" prescribed drugs to patients and allowed his wife to use his pre-signed prescription blanks to dispense drugs like Adderall and Xanax to his patients, authorities said.

Dr. James Cowan Jr., 72, who practices from his Ridgewood home office, also failed to document medical reasons for him prescribing the medications he did.

The state Board of Medical Examiners filed a consent order barring Cowan from practicing medicine and writing prescriptions until it takes further action.

“It is unthinkable that a doctor would deliberately jeopardize the safety of his patients by allowing an unlicensed individual to dispense highly addictive drugs to them without the education, experience, or authority to do so,” said Acting Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino. “The Board of Medical Examiners rightfully took swift action to ensure the public is protected while these accusations are pending.”

Cowan's office manager told investigators from the Division of Consumer Affairs his patients sought out drugs and were often aggressive, Porrino said. They would wander into an upstairs bedroom to find him and Cowan routinely left patients' prescriptions in an outside mailbox, authorities said.

Investigators found that Cowan failed to document any medical reasons for the medications prescribed. Patients' records contained no explanation of the treatment he provided and in some cases the basic demographic sheets were blank, Porrino said.

"The Board takes allegations of doctor misconduct very seriously, especially when they involve the overprescribing of CDS,” said Steve Lee, Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Prescription drug addiction is a nationwide issue and we will not tolerate members of the medical community contributing to the problem by putting drugs into the hands of patients who don’t legitimately need them.”

Patients who believe that they have been treated by a licensed health care professional in an inappropriate manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling 973-504- 6200.

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