AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A state panel has suspended the medical license of a Texas doctor who federal authorities say wrote unnecessary prescriptions for powerful drugs that contributed to the overdose deaths of at least seven people.
A disciplinary committee of the Texas Medical Board took the action Thursday against 56-year-old Howard Gregg Diamond. His practice was based in Sherman, north of Dallas.
The board says in a statement that Diamond “poses a continuing threat to public welfare.” The suspension will remain in place until the board takes further action.
A federal indictment unsealed last week alleges that Diamond began issuing prescriptions in 2010 that had no legitimate medical purpose.
Most Read Nation & World Stories
People who received the prescriptions died in Texas and Oklahoma.
An attorney for Diamond wasn’t immediately available for comment Friday.