Tuesday, March 27, 2007
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Marc Shinderman
A doctor described as a giant in the field of addiction treatment will spend six months in prison for forging prescription slips and medical records, a judge decided Monday in U.S. District Court in Portland.
As a psychiatrist in Illinois, Marc Shinderman, 64, wrote groundbreaking articles on the proper dose for methadone patients and simultaneous treatment of psychiatric and addiction disorders.
But in Maine, where he was not licensed to prescribe controlled drugs, his practice of forging prescriptions and then falsifying log books to make it look as though patients had been seen by doctors with valid registrations led to criminal charges. He was convicted in July of 58 felony offenses.
In addition to his prison term, Shinderman will serve six months of home confinement and will have to pay a $30,000 fine. Shinderman also is likely to lose his license to practice medicine, and is still facing a lawsuit by the federal government against CAP Quality Care, the methadone clinic in Westbrook that his wife owns.
Even though the sentence was less than the 21-month prison term requested by the government, the penalty is significant, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald Clark.
"That's a serious sentence," Clark said. "It sends a very powerful message, it seems to me, whenever a physician goes to jail."
Shinderman was sentenced in a courtroom full of family members, friends and colleagues, including 19 who testified on his behalf.
They described Shinderman as a leading figure in addiction medicine who risked his freedom and his career by providing medically necessary psychiatric drugs to CAP patients, even though he was not licensed to do so in this state.
Shinderman's lawyers called the prosecution "vindictive" and "personal," and suggested that he would not have been subject to such serious consequences if he had not been involved in addiction treatment.
When he imposed the sentence, U.S. District Court Judge D. Brock Hornby made clear that Shinderman was not being punished for his controversial medical opinions or his clinic's alleged role in methadone overdose deaths in Portland.
At the same time, Hornby said, Shinderman would not be rewarded for the good he had done in the past.
Instead, the judge said he focused only on the crimes for which Shinderman was convicted at his trial.
"This was not an error in judgment. This was not a mistake," Hornby said. "It was intentional, it was a regular practice and it was criminal."
Hornby said he enhanced the sentence based on his finding that Shinderman had lied on the witness stand during his trial.
Several witnesses said that any jail sentence for Shinderman would scare other doctors away from treating addicts.
"It will have a deterrent effect, not against people breaking the law, but against physicians entering this type of practice," said David Marsh, an addiction specialist from Vancouver, British Columbia. "I think it will be detrimental to the effort to get physicians to treat people with addiction in ways that are effective and that would dramatically reduce crime."
Marc Riesinger, an addiction specialist from Brussels, Belgium, said Shinderman was being singled out because of the stigma surrounding drug abuse.
"What I saw today shows that the treatment of drug addiction in the United States is not yet part of normal medicine, because what Dr. Shinderman did happens every day in other medical sectors," he said.
Shinderman spoke briefly during his sentencing and apologized for what he called "a tragic lapse in judgment."
He thanked his friends and supporters and said he regretted "the loss of opportunity to do research and advocacy for my patients who suffer from psychiatric and addictive disorders. I fear that punishment will follow me for the rest of my life."
Shinderman, who said he has not decided whether to appeal the conviction, still faces other legal problems.
His conviction will be reviewed by the Illinois board of medical licensure, and if that board takes disciplinary action, the decision will be communicated to all of the other state medical boards.
CAP Quality Care is the defendant in a federal lawsuit alleging Medicaid fraud and violations of federal regulations covering the distribution of take-home doses of methadone. That case could go to trial as soon as this summer.
Sharon Pratt, a former client at CAP who triggered the investigation by telling the state medical board that Shinderman had overdosed her with methadone, attended the sentencing Monday.
"More jail time would have been better, but the fact that he's going to jail at all is awesome," Pratt said. "He won't ever take responsibility for the human lives he destroyed."
Staff Writer Gregory D. Kesich can be contacted at 791-6336 or at:
Reader comments
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as a result of Dr. Shindermans negligence. Upon
finding out about this unfortunate incident I
feel compelled to write of Dr. Shindermans excellent medical acumen in my case. Briefly,
I have a severe brain disorder which resulted in
annual hospitalizations. With Dr. Shidermans
vigilance and medical knowledge I was able to
exist hospital free for years. For this I am grateful. For those who were hurt Please Forgive
him.report abuse
Without Dr.Shinderman's Help it's possible I would have been able to be happy,maybe to live out my days in a halfway house,not ever to help asmany people as I have. As for the dr. doing it for the money, I recall Pam Zekman doing a piece on his clinic in Chicago when I was his patient and his frustration with people who don't know anything about addiction or medicine what is the right amount of methadone. Also why was he working at a poor clinic in Chicago, treating people like myself who had no money with respect and dignity. I don't know what this country is coming to when it aqppears to me that all Dr. Shinderman did was write prescriptions in something he believed in at a place he wasn't licensed for instead of actually getting docs to do it. I know I'm just a mental patient and not some big shot prosecutor,but I will say a prayer, and hope the dr.is happy.report abuse
Tomalin,
I appreciate that you believe using latin makes your posting sound more intelligent. However, it does not make your incorrect facts any more true. If you want to defend an egomaniac and a criminal, that is your decision. It may be a sad and misguided decision, but it is yours to make.
Considering the fact that he is going to be in prison for a long list of offenses, I would say that makes your argument nil (oh look, I am more intellegent when I use the word nil just like you!).
In terms of grammar, last time I checked, "And I quote" is not a complete sentence. Maybe you could take a look at those many grammar guides you must have, and let me know what you find out.
Have fun in prison Dr. Shinderman - your loyal patients will apparently defend your honor in your absence. And when you return, maybe you could throw in a copy of "Strunk and White" along with their illegal double dose of methadone. report abuse
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