Pain clinics fail inspection
The sheriff’s office announced Friday three pain clinics in Hernando County failed a routine inspection that checks for compliance with Hernando County ordinances.
A total of 11 clinics were inspected by the Vice and Narcotics Unit between Jan. 29 and Feb. 12, with eight facilities passing inspection and three clinics failing.
The three clinics that did not pass inspection were Cosmopolitan Clinic, Florida Medical Pain Management and Dr. Ahmed’s General Practice Pain and Injury Clinic.
Cosmopolitan Clinic listed a recently deceased doctor and did not list its county license number on prescriptions given to patients. The clinic was closed down and cannot open back up until it has a doctor and reapplies for a county license.
Florida Medical Pain Management was found to be not putting the county license numbers on its prescriptions and given a warning.
Dr. Ahmed’s General Practice Pain and Injury Clinic was observed not displaying its permit, accepting cash only and not listing its county license number on prescriptions. Ahmed was issued a notice to appear on the first two violations, which are misdemeanors. The sheriff’s office previously gave a warning to Ahmed’s office for not listing the county license on prescriptions.
The 11 local pain clinics inspected were:
According to sheriff spokeswoman Denise Moloney, the sweep was to check that pain clinics complied with the county’s ordinances.
Pain clinics have been in the local limelight since November 2011, when Harold Sleight of the Hope Pain Management Group was arrested after an 18-month investigation by sheriff’s deputies found Sleight writing blank prescriptions.
Law enforcement said Sleight was not judicious in giving out prescriptions for addictive drugs and had signed thousands of prescriptions during his career.
Sleight’s assistant, Lynn Hutchinson, reportedly portrayed herself as a doctor though she did not have a license or training.
Sleight is facing 12 felony charges in a trial set this April before Judge Anthony Tatti. The state is pursuing one charge of trafficking in controlled substance, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, four counts of possessing a medicinal drug without a prescription, three counts of principle to practice medicine without an active license, principle to practice without a license and one count of writing a prescription for money.
Hutchinson faces 14 felony charges in an upcoming trial, also set for April.
