Former orthopedic surgeon Thomas Dempsey, MD, was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $250,000 after pleading guilty to illegal drug distribution, AL.com reports.
Dr. Dempsey, a founding member of the Alabama Orthopedic Clinic in Mobile, left the practice in 2012 to establish Mobile-based Orthopedic Quick Care.
Dr. Dempsey was working at Orthopedic Quick Care in June 2018 when he signed blank prescription papers for his staff to use when he was away on a trip to South Carolina. He admitted to signing those papers as part of his September 2019 guilty plea.
Without the required DEA licensing, Dr. Dempsey's staff members used the pre-signed papers to distribute 37 prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone, prosecutors said.
Dr. Dempsey lost his licence to practice in July 2018 after 41 years in medicine.