State Suspends Houston Doctor Who Operated Illegal Pain Clinic

HOUSTON, TX — A Houston area physician accused of operating an unlicensed pain clinic has been suspended by the Texas Medical Board.

Dr. Myrtle Oates license was suspended on Feb. 9 without notice after a disciplinary panel determined her continuation in the practice of medicine poses a continuing threat to public welfare. The suspension was effective immediately.

Oates was operating an unregistered pain management clinic and a recent review of her electronic prescribing information determined a site visit to obtain patient records was necessary.

Records showed patients were paying $250 to $400 in cash for visits and that patients were receiving a combination of cocktail drugs including opioids and carisoprodol, according to a press release from the Texas Medical Board.

The suspension will remain in place until the board takes further action.

Oates, a licensed gynecologist, was the center of a criminal investigation in 2016 involving a suspected pill mill operation, KPRC reported.

She was arrested on felony charges for prescribing narcotics without proper licensing, police said.

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