In our blog post of January 18, 2015, (click HERE to read) we initially reported on serious issues surrounding the KASPER (Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting) system that we uncovered during our investigation in the case of United States v. James Dustin Chaney. Dr. James D. “Dusty” Chaney is an Eastern Kentucky physician.
Relied upon by law enforcement and a host of federal and state agencies, a KASPER report shows all scheduled prescriptions for an individual over a specified time period, the prescriber, and the dispenser. Given the gravity of the ramifications associated with these reports, KASPER is intended to be a zero-error system.
The current KASPER system, however, fundamentally relies on data that is entered by pharmacy personnel, and our investigation has revealed an alarming rate of error at this point of entry. In this case, we discovered pharmacies incorrectly identifying Dr. Chaney as the prescriber of controlled substances that he did not prescribe. That incorrect information was then incorporated into a KASPER report, and relied upon by various agencies, without regard for the information’s accuracy.
Our investigation in this case has led to the filing of a lawsuit by Dr. Chaney against various pharmacies and pharmacy personnel. As set forth in the Complaint, these defendants incorrectly identified Dr. Chaney as the physician who prescribed numerous controlled substances that he did not prescribe. Dr. Chaney then suffered catastrophic consequences, including a federal indictment and suspension of his medical license.
Click HERE to read a copy of the Complaint.
Click HERE to read the Hazard-Herald’s coverage of the filing of this suit.
If you are a physician or other medical provider who has been wrongfully accused of prescribing medications that you did not prescribe, we are here to help!
