A psychiatrist in Atlanta was arrested Thursday in connection with the deaths of 36 of his patients. The doctor, Dr. Narendra Nagareddy, is accused of indiscriminately prescribing prescription drugs to his patients.
The 36 people linked to Dr. Nagareddy's practice were people that first became his patients from many years ago, and he had continued to treat them for several years now.
Clayton County District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson said that Dr. Nagareddy would be charged with prescribing pain medication, which is not within the scope of his profession as a psychiatrist. Additionally, the drugs that the patients were prescribed were not for "a legitimate purpose". He could also be charged with infringing Georgia's Controlled Substance Act, according to WSBTV Atlanta..
The District Attorney's office decided to investigate this matter after they found that 12 of the autopsy reports of Dr. Nagareddy's patients (that had died) said that the cause of death was an over-dose of prescription drugs.
The typical treatment strategy that Dr. Nagareddy deployed was to first put most patients on some form of opiates or benzodiazepine. From then, it was about juggling the different drug combinations that would keep patients hooked on those drugs for many years at a stretch.
Some reports described Dr. Nagareddy's practices as a "pill mill." One reviewer on the website RateMDs.com had written in 2010 about Dr. Nagareddy: "This Dr. is nothing but a drug pusher. Instead of helping my disorder, he kept me wasted on seven different drugs. If you want drugs, this is your guy. If you want help - keep looking or you will end up in rehab," according to The Examiner.
Dr. Nagareddy had a valid license to practice psychiatry in America and Georgia and did not have any previous lawsuits or actions pending against him, according to CNN.
