(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—A hearing examiner today issued a recommendation that the medical license of Dr. James E. Lundeen Sr. be permanently revoked. The hearing examiner found that Lundeen was overprescribing medication to patients at his offices in Portsmouth and Plymouth. Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's Office has been involved in the investigation and represented the Ohio State Medical Board at the license hearing.
"We are pleased with the examiner's recommendation that Lundeen's medical license be permanently revoked," said Attorney General DeWine. "We will continue to aggressively fight 'pill mills' that endanger the lives of Ohioans and harm families."
Last March, investigators from the Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Workers Compensation, the State Highway Patrol, and other agencies raided Lundeen's offices in downtown Portsmouth and Plymouth. Lundeen's medical license was suspended by the State Medical Board in May, based on the finding that Lundeen's continued practice presented a danger of immediate and serious harm to the public.
In August, the State Medical Board began an administrative hearing in this matter before a hearing examiner. During this hearing, the Attorney General's Office presented evidence regarding 26 patients to demonstrate that Lundeen's practice of medicine fell below the minimal standards expected of care. Two of Lundeen's patients testified at the hearing, explaining that Lundeen did not perform even cursory physical evaluations at appointments when he would prescribe ever-increasing amounts of narcotics to them. These patients testified that, as a result of Lundeen's overprescribing, they became increasingly addicted to their prescriptions.
The State Medical Board is expected to vote in December whether to accept the hearing examiner's recommendation.
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