A New Jersey orthopedic surgeon has been indicted for illegally prescribing controlled substances to his patients. Earlier this month, a New Jersey grand jury charged Evangelos Megariotis, M.D. with 34 counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances.
Grand Jury Indicts NJ Ortho Surgeon
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Dr. Megariotis owned and operated Clifton, New Jersey-based Clifton Orthopedic Associates, P.A. He has not practiced medicine since he closed his practice on December 31, 2018.
The indictment involves five patients of Dr. Megariotis who allegedly received prescriptions from him. The indictment claims that Dr. Megariotis did “knowingly and intentionally distribute and dispense” controlled substances to the five patients “outside the usual course of professional practice and not for a legitimate medical purpose.”
The substances referenced in the indictment are Schedule II, Schedule IV, and Schedule V controlled substances. The controlled substances include the following: Oxycodone, Alprazolam, Promethazine with codeine, OxyContin, Dextroamphetamine-Amphetamine, Methylphenidate, Vyanse, and Phentermine.
The indictment lists each count, the approximate date the controlled substance was distributed/dispensed, the patient number, and the controlled substance and schedule. All the dates listed fall between November 2016 and March 2018.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey issued a press release on the matter. According to the press release, “The counts charging illegal prescribing of Schedule II opioids and stimulants are punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The counts charging illegal prescribing of alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance, are punishable by a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The counts charging illegal prescribing of cough syrup with codeine, a Schedule V controlled substance, are punishable by a maximum of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office cautions that “[t]he charges, and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant [Dr. Megariotis] is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.”
This is not the first time that Dr. Megariotis has faced allegations involving his patient prescriptions. Last year, Dr. Megariotis resolved allegations of professional misconduct and gross negligence. For OTW’s coverage of the settlement, see “NJ Ortho Surgeon Admits to Performing Unnecessary Surgeries.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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