Washington psychiatrist Charles Huffine charged by state for neglect in adolescent substance abuse case; disciplined in 2007 teen case

On November 30, 2009, the Washington Department of Health (DoH) issued a Statement of Charges against psychiatrist Charles W. Huffine for unprofessional conduct.

According to the document, Huffine provided treatment to a teenage male with a known history of substance abuse and a possible suicidal attempt, as well as considerable present-time substance abuse, including alcohol, marijuana, methadone, OxyContin and LSD.

Among the state’s allegations is that, despite an OxyContin overdose and the patient’s admissions of other substance use, escalating family turmoil instigated by the patient, increasing erratic and violent behavior, an auto accident and two citations (one for Minor in Possession), Huffine never pursued a urinalysis or other laboratory tests to determine what exactly the patient was taking or how much; never suggested to the patient that he stop using; did nothing to monitor the patient’s use; did not adequately assess the impact of the patient’s substance abuse on his mental health; did not inform the patient’s parents regarding the serious nature of the patient’s substance abuse and did not significantly involve the family in the patient’s treatment.

Further, in response to the patient’s mother’s concerns about her son’s behavior and obvious signs of drug abuse, Huffine did not inform the mother of the “serious level of danger to her son and others. Instead, he reassured the mother…suggested that he mother should not be so sure about whether the drugs were producing the patient’s…behavior. He urged her to look beyond the drug issues and see the behavior as complex and affected by psychiatric issues.” He told the mother that her son was “not ready” to stop using drugs.

Lastly, despite the known and very serious substance abuse, Huffine did not recommend more intense substance abuse treatment and on many occasions actually recommended against immediate inpatient treatment.

Ultimately, the boy was found un-arousable from sleep and was taken to the hospital where it was found he’d overdosed on 180 mg of methadone. He soon after entered substance abuse treatment and did not return to Huffine’s treatment. 

The DoH records for Huffine also contain a January 2007 Order in which Huffine was censured for unprofessional conduct because he “crossed professional boundaries” with a 16-year-old female patient in that he “created an unhealthy dependency in wherein the patient focused on her relationship with Huffine to the exclusion of relationships with her parents and boyfriend…substituted himself as a father figure for the patient, created role confusion for the patient and was divisive in the patient’s relationship with her parents.”

Source: Statement of Charges in the Matter of Charles W. Huffine, M.D., License No. MD00013207, Case No. M2009-349, Washington Dept. of Health Medical Quality Assurance Commission, filed November 30, 2009 and Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Final Order in the Matter of Charles W. Huffine, M.D., License No. MD00013207, Docket No. 05-05-A-1013MD, Washington Dept. of Health Medical Quality Assurance Commission, filed January 29, 2007.

Florida psychologist Adam Feder gets six years prison in drug death of former patient-girlfriend

On December 22, Miami psychologist Adam Feder, 42, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2006 death of his former girlfriend. Feder failed to call 911 after the 20-year-old girl—a former patient—took a lethal dose of the painkiller Oxycodone from an illegal stash inside Feder’s home. Reports following Feder’s 2008 arrest indicate that he had broken off their romance but gave the distraught girl more than 100 times the safe dosage of the drug. After ingesting the dose, the girl lay writhing on Feder’s bed for 24 hours before Feder finally called 911 for help, according to prosecutors. Authorities believe he neglected to summon help sooner because he did not want his illegal drug stash to be discovered. The death, originally ruled a suicide was later reclassified a homicide. Feder was arrested in February 2008 regarding the girl’s death and again in June 2008 on charges of drug trafficking. Police stated that Feder, who cannot write prescriptions, used doctors’ prescription pads to obtain the drugs. “He just violated every imaginable moral, ethical and administrative rule that exists,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle said. “She was 19 years old and she went to him to seek counseling. You had someone that was very vulnerable.” Feder was sentenced to six years in prison and four years probation and has forfeited his license to practice psychology. He is also being sued by the girl’s family.

Source: David Ovalle, “Psychologist pleads guilty in lover/ex-patient’s death,” Miami Herald, December 23, 2009 and David Ovalle, “Drug charges filed against psychologist,” Miami Herald, June 16, 2008.

Washington counselor Barbara Allen’s license suspended following conviction for identity theft

On August 3, 2009, the Washington Department of Health (DOH) indefinitely suspended registered counselor Barbara J. Allen for unprofessional conduct.

In April 2009, the DOH charged Allen, noting that though her counseling registration expired on September 11, 2007, she worked as a bookkeeper and care provider for a vulnerable adult between 2003 and 2006 and served as the client’s durable power of attorney, which gave her access to the client’s funds.

During this time, Allen opened up a credit card account in the client’s name and had the bill sent to her own address.  She used the credit card for her own personal benefit.

In July 2008, Allen was convicted of Second Degree Identity Theft and Forgery (both felonies), based on her financial exploitation of the above-referenced client.

The DOH served Allen with a statement of charges in April 2009, to which she failed to respond and thus, by default was suspended.

She will be required to pay a $5,000 fine prior to requesting reinstatement of her counseling registration.

SOURCE:

Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Final Order of Default in the Matter of Barbara J. Allen, registration no. RC00051196, case no. M2009-281, Washington State Department of Health, August 3, 2009.

State revokes Geoffrey Chipps’ licenses for sexual misconduct

On August 28, 2009, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) revoked both Geoffrey J.L. Chipps’ licensed mental health counselor credential and his chemical dependency professional credential for sexual misconduct and unprofessional conduct.

The DOH’s document details Chipps’ treatment of four females, all of whom presented testimony against Chipps at a disciplinary hearing:

• Patient A began therapy with Chipps in December 2004 for “marriage issues: communication.”  During therapy, the patient dealt with issues of sexual abuse and molestation, among other things.  In June or July 2005, Chipps “hugged Patient A and held her to him…kissed her on pulled up her shirt and bra…unzipped his pants” and had Patient A perform oral sex on him.  Regular sexual contact followed, before, after or during counseling sessions and in the patient’s home, at parks and in Chipps’ office.

• Patient B began counseling with Chipps for problems stemming from alcohol abuse in June 2005.  Chipps hugged her (described as a whole-body hug with a rocking motion) and kissed her on the lips.

• Patient C and her husband began counseling with Chipps for marital issues in September 2005.  He met with C alone on three occasions.  Chipps hugged her (again, described as whole-body hug) and tickled her.  She advised him to stop but he did it again during the next session.  He also made inappropriate comments to C, telling her he had been accused by a client of inappropriate behavior and also that one client had attempted suicide and was suing him.  He also told C that he and his own wife had no relationship with each other.

• Patient D began counseling with Chipps’ for spousal abuse in October 2006.  The DOH’s document states that during their sessions, Chipps made comments to the patient such as that he’d “like to take you over my knee and spank you,”  “I like it when you lean forward” and “You and I are going to have an affair.” Further, he hugged her twice after one session and held her tight.

Though recently corrected, as late as mid-October 2009, Chipps was still referring to himself on his website as a “Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor Level II (CCDC)”–a patent falsehood, in conflict with both the above-referenced disciplinary order and the Washington Department of Health’s “Provider Credential Search” results for Chipps.

What does this psychiatrist do to earn $179,000 a year? (Apparently, not much.)

On August 5, 2009, New York psychiatrist Royle Miralles was suspended with pay from his $179,000 a year position as staff psychiatrist for Wayne County Behavioral Health Network after his superiors discovered (courtesy of a local television news investigation) that he had been disciplined by the state medical licensing board for numerous instances of negligence, incompetence and recordkeeping failures.  Miralles never reported the disciplinary action to his employer.

Miralles is noted as being the highest-paid employee in Wayne County.

What does a county psychiatrist do to make that kind of money?

Perhaps only Miralles and his patients know the answer to that question for sure.  What is known is what Miralles doesn’t do.  According to disciplinary documents acquired by Psych Crime Reporter from the New York Board for Professional Medical Conduct, Miralles did not do the following standard (and sometimes critical) tests or examinations and/or other medically-required tasks with regard to seven patients:

• Failed to obtain and/or document patients’ informed consent (patient’s cognizant understanding of the benefits and liabilities of the suggested method of treatment, applicable alternative treatments as well as no treatment) for the drugs he prescribed
• Failed to adequately monitor lithium levels (failure to do this can result in liver damage and/or failure)
• Failed to conduct adequate assessments and/or document adequate assessments for tardive dyskinesia (a serious potential side effect of antipsychotic drugs, resulting in abnormal involuntary movements of the face, tongue, limbs and trunk)
• Neglected to obtain neurologic consultations for patients risking tardive dyskinesia
• Failed to adequately monitor blood sugar levels, lipid profiles, weight and/or girth during treatment with atypical antipsychotic drugs (which carry known dangerous side effects of abnormal weight gain, blood sugar abnormalities and diabetes)
• Failed to monitor kidney function and coagulation status prior to and during treatment with a particular drug (the use of which requires such tests)
• Failed to maintain accurate medical records

This is just a partial list of Miralles’ failures to uphold the standard of care, for which his license was placed on probation for five years with terms and conditions.

$179,000 is a lot of county money to pay someone to neglect basic patient health and safety requirements.

So what do psychiatrists do to earn their pay?

A 2007 review by Citizens Commission on Human Rights, of U.S. Department of Justice inspections of public psychiatric facilities revealed that six out of seven of the institutions investigated engaged in some degree in the use of seclusion and/or restraint as a first line of treatment (which it is not) and/or the strikingly high use of pro re nata (Latin for “as needed”) medications as a “chemical restraint” for the convenience of the hospital staff.

What else do psychiatrists do to earn those big paychecks?  A 1997 study revealed that 10% of all psychiatrists admitted to sexually abusing their patients; 80% admitted to being repeat offenders.

If our counties and states really want to balance their budgets and have money available for constructive and community-desirable programs, they need to look at how they might be throwing their citizens’ money away on psychiatrists like Miralles, who take the money but neglect the patients, often to the point of sickness, disfigurement and death.

About Kansas psychiatrist Douglas Geenens

This is an overview, in no particular order, of what is publicly known about Douglas Geenens:

Douglas Lee Geenens, D.O., is a Kansas City area physician who specializes in psychiatry and child psychiatry.  He has operated mainly in the Overland Park area of Kansas but also was also licensed in Missouri until October 2007.

The Kansas Board of Healing Arts suspended his medical license for six months on December 11, 2004 with all but seven days stayed.  The reason for this disciplinary action was that Dr. Geenens engaged in a social and then sexual relationship with a former patient–the wife of a colleague who had come to him for treatment of “depression and marital issues,” according to the Kansas Board’s Order, which you can see here.

Dr. Geenens married this former patient in Key West, Florida on December 15, 2007.

Dr. Geenens was under investigation by the Missouri State Board of Registration for the Healing Arts but quietly “retired” his license in October 2007 when it was due for renewal.  This, according to an official letter from the Board, “closed the Board’s case” against  him.

Dr. Geenens was the treating psychiatrist of 13-year-old Matthew Miller, who hanged himself after one week on the Geenens-prescribed antidepressant Zoloft in July 1997.  Zoloft is manufactured by the the Pfizer pharmaceutical company.   According to a deposition Geenens gave in a lawsuit filed by Miller’s parents against Pfizer, Geenens was (and possibly still is) a highly paid Pfizer speaker, frequently given promotional talks on Zoloft.    Story here (particularly paragraph 28).

Some time between December 2004 and present, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts re-opened an investigation of Dr. Geenens, due in part perhaps to complaints filed by Citizens Commission on Human Rights, citing his ongoing relationship with the former patient as a continuing violation of rules and regulations governing the conduct of physicians.

On October 29, 2008, the Kansas Board of Healing Arts filed a 23-count disciplinary Petition against Dr. Geenens, seeking to suspend or revoke his license for numerous alleged violations,    20 of which state that he prescribed psychiatric drugs to patients and non-patients without sufficient examinations.   It also cites “boundary issues” in connection with improper relationships with patients.   In one case, the Petition states that Geenens told a patient, “You need to get a divorce, move to the Plaza and we could have breakfast together.”  The document has never been posted on the Board of Healing Arts’ website, but here is their press release about it.