A well respected University of Washington doctor had his medical license suspended this week and is the target of a criminal investigation after allegedly trading OxyContin tablets for sex with a painkiller addict.
The doctor in question, 72-year-old Leonard Hudson, was charged after the addict--a 22-year-old female whose name was not disclosed either in a state Department of Health press release or a Seattle Post Intelligencer article--overdosed on OxyContin on March 3. Hudson is accused of providing 500 pills over a five-month span from October 2009 to March 2010 to the woman, whom he met online through a prostitution website.
What's more, Hudson tried to write a prescription under the name of a friend of the woman so the friend's insurance would cover the cost of the prescription. According to a statement of charges from the Department of Health, the friend was insured by her mother, who immediately contacted police when the prescription was charged to her health insurance. The newspaper reports that the friend was "not a willing participant" in the scam.
In 2008, Hudson received a Mission of Caring award from Harborview Medical Center, where he had served as associate physician-in-chief. He had worked at UW since 1973, and also served as an adjunct professor of medical history and ethics.
"Such prescribing practices show a lack of regard for patient safety and gross negligence," the DOH statement read. Hudson has 20 days to respond to the charges, and is not allowed to practice medicine in the state until those charges are resolved.
To learn more:
- read the Post Intelligencer article
- read the DOH's statement of charges
- here's the DOH press release
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