State Board of Medicine can publicly discipline some doctors

State regulators can make doctors' disciplinary documents public if doctors repeatedly break the rules after treatment for drug or alcohol abuse, patterns of substandard care or other troubles that put patients at risk. Not all of the doctors enter the Physician Recovery Network.

Each quarter, the board releases the names of the doctors and physician assistants against whom the state has taken public action. Physician assistants can perform much of the routine primary care that doctors do.

In all cases, the health care providers and the board agreed not to pursue their cases further if the doctors or other providers followed rules laid down by the board to ensure patient safety. Doctors are not admitting guilt when they sign an agreement, called a "stipulation and order."

If the board finds doctors aren't following the rules, which can include taking classes or undergoing random drug tests, it can take further action. In rare cases, physicians lose their licenses. This information was in the board's latest quarterly newsletter, for summer 2008, posted in recent weeks on its Web site.

Here are their names, where they practiced, and a little about each incident:

DR. DANIEL W. MCLAUGHLIN, IDAHO FALLS

The board says McLaughlin, a family practice doctor, prescribed narcotics or hallucinogenic drugs to drug addicts. The board required him to take an educational course in pain management and curtailed his privileges to prescribe controlled substances. He said he had met all the conditions set by the board and has full prescribing privileges. The board will monitor his prescribing habits for about two years, he said. He is not himself accused of abusing drugs.

DR. DAVID A. SMITH, BOISE

A family doctor who earlier this year worked under contract with a Boise medical group, Smith lost his license to practice for a year, effective July 1, after the board said he got hold of Soma, a muscle relaxant, and asked a patient to return Lunesta, a sleep aid. Smith has a pattern of abusing drugs, the board says, and has failed in the past to follow rules set by the board. Smith is not practicing medicine. At least seven other health professionals with active licenses in Idaho also are named David Smith, including an anesthesiologist, an optometrist and a dentist. The Smith disciplined by the board held license No. M-5762. He could not be reached.

DR. CHRISTOPHER A. PARTRIDGE, BOISE

Partridge once practiced in the Boise area and specialized in family medicine and obstetrics-gynecology. Mental illness and alcohol and drug addiction made him a possible threat to patients, the board said. He was required to meet a long list of requirements if he wanted to practice medicine, including a ban on prescribing narcotics or other controlled substances under any circumstances. His lawyer, John Eric Sutton, said the prescription restrictions made it impossible for Partridge, a war veteran with a Purple Heart who may have suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, to find work. That restriction was to be dropped in January 2009, and Partridge already had a job lined up out of state, Sutton said.

DR. VALERIE L. FOX, CLARKSTON, WASH.

The Board of Medicine suspended Fox's license to practice, after her license in neighboring Washington was suspended because of mental illness, board documents show. Her last known address is in Clarkston, but she could not be reached for comment.

DR. CAROL K. VANCE, IDAHO FALLS

Vance, whose IdaCare practice profile on the Board of Medicine Web site says she is a pediatrician, failed to fill out forms detailing her training, practice history and other information required for the IdaCare database. Health care practitioners are required by state law to file the information intended to help patients. The board doesn't check it for accuracy. Vance paid $5,300 in fines, board documents show. She could not be reached for comment.

DR. NITA BETH WEBER, SODA SPRINGS

Weber is practicing in eastern Idaho at Caribou Memorial Hospital, according to board documents. In Utah, where she practiced previously, she was disciplined for the way she prescribed narcotics or other controlled substances. In one incident in Utah, she was accused of writing a patient prescriptions for the highly addictive narcotic pain-killer Oxycontin without keeping any records of it. Given her record in Utah, the Idaho Board of Medicine issued her a license to practice, but put her on a year of probation. The board said, among other things, that she can stay at the Idaho hospital under the close watch of another physician. Weber is not accused of misusing drugs herself. Her problems were about properly documenting her actions, she said. She said she was complying with all the terms of her probation, including taking educational courses. "If there's no problems, I shouldn't have anything to worry about," she said.

DR. WILLIAM ERNEST WALTNER

Waltner once practiced in Washington state, but had a record of alcohol abuse and sexual relationships with patients in that state. He applied for an Idaho license, but he agreed to follow a set of strict rules in order to practice. He agreed to take random drug and alcohol tests, not to practice alone, to have another doctor oversee his work, not to have sexual contact with current or ex-patients and more. The Board of Medicine does not believe he is practicing. He could not be located or reached for comment.

VERNON MCCREADY, BOISE

The physician assistant received permission to return to work after reports of trouble off and on with alcohol since the late 1990s. He agreed to blood and urine tests, a workplace monitor and other stipulations. He is not practicing now, but is looking for a job, he said. "The board recognizes I'm in recovery, and they have allowed me to return to work," said McCready, who lives in Boise.

DOUGLAS K. MCVEY

The physician assistant agreed to take courses in practice management and medical ethics, among other things, after he was accused of signing the name of another health-care provider on medical records using a signature stamp. He can ask that the restrictions be removed after two years. The Statesman was unable to track where or whether he is practicing regularly.