Doctor Settles With Medical Board Over Prescribing Behavior Tied To An Overdose Death
Clyde Ikuta has relinquished his medical license.
Orange County Register:
Anaheim Doctor Relinquishes Medical License After Patient Overdose
An Anaheim doctor has given up his medical license to settle state Medical Board allegations of gross negligence, including repeatedly prescribing opiates to a patient who died of an accidental drug overdose. Clyde Ikuta surrendered his license, effective Jan. 19, according to board documents recently made public. His attorney, Garrett Gregor, declined to comment on Tuesday. According to the documents, Ikuta saw an unidentified 25-year-old man for pain from August 2010 to May 2011. Despite the patient’s history of heroin abuse, Ikuta prescribed methadone without ever giving him a drug test or checking to see if other doctors were also prescribing opiates to him. (Perkes, 1/24)
In other news from across the state —
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Report: Medical Care At Donovan Prison Adequate, But Could Improve
The prison scored 17 percent in conducting annual tuberculosis screenings, failing to properly test any of the 15 sampled patients requiring a skin test in addition to annual screening for signs and symptoms, the report said. The facility scored 33 percent on monitoring and timely administration of all tuberculosis medication doses for the sampled patients during the study period. Medication practices and and storage controls were problematic, with the facility meeting standards in only 48 percent of the tested criteria, the report said. Nursing staff followed proper hand-sanitizing protocols at three of eight sampled locations, and staff at two other locations didn’t have accessible sinks to wash their hands, the report said. (Cook, 1/24)