California psychiatrist accused of overprescribing medication

December 6, 2017

The executive director of California's medical board filed an accusation saying that psychiatrist Ruth Annette Schack overprescribed medications.

Schack has been a psychiatrist for nearly 30 years.  A man, identified as "A.K." in the accusation, had seen Schack repeatedly from 2002 through 2013.  Over the span, Schack diagnosed him at various times with anxiety, depression, insomnia, panic disorder, grogginess, low testosterone and being "decompensated," meaning his mental health was supposedly deteriorating.  She also prescribed him escalating and de-escalating doses of Celexa, Klonopin, Zoloft, Seroquel, Lexapro, Ambien, Provigil, Wellbutrin, Prozac, Adderall, Silenor, Effexor, Remeron, Lunesta, Trazodone and a steroid hormone.

The accusation filed against Schack concluded that Schack "excessively prescribed drugs and committed repeated acts of clearly excessive use of diagnostic procedures in the care and treatment of" A.K. and accused Schack of unprofessional conduct, repeated negligent acts, failure to maintain adequate and accurate records and "prescribing, dispensing or furnishing dangerous drugs without appropriate medical indication."

SOURCE: Matt Coker, "State Probes Doctors Joseph Efe Imarah and Ruth Annette Schack," OC Weekly, 28 Nov 2017, http://www.ocweekly.com/news/doctor-accusations-8580623.