LOUDON,
Tenn. (WATE) – The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners has
permanently revoked the license of a Loudon County doctor who was
put on probation in 2016 for overprescribing opioids.The board permanently revoked the medical license of Dr. Peter Stimpson, and ordered him to pay $1,000 in fines and to pay costs of prosecuting case up to $50,000.
Stimpson’s license was put on probation for a 5-year period by the medical board in 2016 after an investigation involving 45 of his patients. He was also issued a $10,000 civil penalty and ordered to pay up to $5,000 in court costs.
The 2016 investigation found that Stimpson was among the top 50 most frequent prescribers of controlled substances in Tennessee in 2014 and 2015.
The 2016 board order states that he prescribed controlled substances without documenting sufficient justification, failed to explain treatments other than prescription of controlled substances and did not adequately inform patients of potentially harmful effects of medication combinations.
According to the 2016 order, Stimpson prescribed one patient dangerously high levels of controlled substances from 2007 through 2014, including Xanax, Oxycodone, Hydrochloride and Oxycontin. At one point, Stimpson was prescribing the patient a combined total of approximately 900 morphine equivalent daily doses.
Stimpson was ordered to reduce his rate of opioid prescriptions by 30% and assigned a state monitor as part of several disciplinary actions in 2016.
The order issued by the state board on May 25, 2022 states that Stimpson did not decrease his rate of opioid prescription and engaged in “unprofessional, dishonorable or unethical conduct.”
Former patient recounts past experiences with doctor who lost medical license Peter Stimpson lost medical license after overprescribing opioids, according to state officials.
Stimpson was put on probation back in 2016 and asked to lower his prescription numbers by 30%. According to the state, he did not comply. Former Stimpson patient, Julie Perkins, said she was scared her kids would see her under the influence of morphine when it was prescribed to her back in the early 2000′s.
“I didn’t want to try it with them at home and it put me on my couch all day. I was zombied out. I mean I couldn’t get up and do anything I was staring at the ceiling,” Perkins said.
She said it started with getting prescribed hydrocodone, but Stimpson later changed it to morphine and upped the dosage. Perkins said it was scary and chose not to take the entire dosage. When Stimpson found out, Perkins said he refused to care for her.
“He was on pain management with Stimpson and he had him on oxycontin and I’m not sure what else he was giving him but he was staying pretty messed up,” Perkins said.
She also said Stimpson tried to make him fully quit, but he eventually became an addict. Perkins said now the entire family has struggled with this.
“It’s been hard. Really hard. It’s affected my mother, his kids, me, my kids,” Perkins said.
Stimpson can file a petition to appeal the state’s decision. He must do that by June 8.
Other former patients went to the primary care facility where Stimpson worked Friday to sign consent forms to find new primary care physicians.
WVLT News did reach out to the office itself. All they said was Stimpson was a good doctor.