The psychiatrist at the center of an opioid scandal at the troubled Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center has agreed to surrender his medical license, under an agreement reached Wednesday with state regulators.
Under the deal, David J. Houlihan agreed never to apply for a medical license in the state,
in exchange for state regulators dropping their investigation into his
actions at Tomah and not seeking reimbursement for the probe. Houlihan
has 30 days to wrap up his practice in La Crosse before surrendering his
license.
While chief of staff at the Tomah
facility, Houlihan was given the nickname "candy man" by some vets
because of his alleged widespread distribution of painkillers.
"I
believe he has no business treating our nation’s veterans or any
citizen in Wisconsin, so this is welcome news," U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin
said in a statement on Houlihan's deal with the state.
The Tomah VA came under fire in January 2015, when a report by the Center for Investigative Reporting detailed high levels of opioid prescriptions at the facility and a pervasive culture of intimidation and retaliation against employees who spoke out.
Officials
in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs' office of inspector general
had identified “troubling” levels of opioid prescriptions at the
facility in 2014 but found no criminal wrongdoing.
Last
year, the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
Committee, which is headed by Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, issued a withering report identifying "systemic failures" by the OIG for its review of the problems at the Tomah hospital.
Johnson
said in a statement on Wednesday that the state investigation confirmed
the work of his committee: "As my committee’s investigation also found,
the Tomah VAMC and Dr. Houlihan repeatedly failed to honor this
nation’s promises to the finest among us."
Houlihan has been under investigation by the state's Medical Examining Board for more than two years. The board filed three complaints against him.
In
one complaint, Houlihan was accused of creating "the unacceptable risk"
that an unnamed patient — described as Patient A — would "suffer
adverse consequences, up to, and including death."
The unnamed patient was Jason Simcakoski, a 35-year-old Marine Corps veteran who died at Tomah in 2014 while under Houlihan's care.
Marvin
and Linda Simcakoski said although the agreement doesn't "bring back"
their son Jason, they hope some good can come from their loss.
"The
bottom line, we're looking at what's going to help all these other
veterans and service men and women and also hold someone accountable who
did something wrong. That's all we ask for," Marvin Simcakoski said.
"Doctors
have to understand there is an opiate epidemic going on in our country
right now," he added. "When you hand out medications that are dangerous
like these, you have to be responsible for the consequences."
In
addition, Houlihan was accused of inappropriate care, unsafe
prescriptive practices, acting beyond the scope of his psychiatric
practice, inadequate documentation and failure to discuss risks and
benefits of treatment.
Houlihan, who could not be reached for comment, denied any professional misconduct in the stipulation with medical regulators.
The
case built against the psychiatrist relied heavily on the work of the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which revoked Houlihan's medical
privileges and fired him from the Tomah facility in November 2015 for
his failure to provide proper treatment to 20 Tomah VA patients.
Houlihan took his case to the Disciplinary Appeals Board, which took
testimony and reviewed 155 exhibits during a five-day hearing last year.
In
June, the board affirmed the initial decision against Houlihan in what
it called a "major adverse action" against the psychiatrist.
The
board found Houlihan prescribed opioids to patients without proper
documentation, in excessive amounts or to patients with a history of
drug or alcohol abuse.
Wisconsin regulators used the information from the Department of Veterans Affairs to bolster their case against Houlihan.
A
state administrative law judge issued an order last month granting
partial summary judgment against Houlihan for engaging in
"unprofessional conduct" under state law.
Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.
Contact Bill Glauber at (414) 224-2526 or bglauber@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillGlauber.
Dr. David Houlihan,
Dr. David Houlihan,
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