NJ Medical Board Suspends Psychiatrist Robert Dragert Over Prescribing Practices

November 2, 2018

A state board has suspended the license of a psychiatrist accused of "indiscriminately" prescribing addictive drugs at a Burlington County practice.

Dr. Robert J. Dragert received a two-year suspension and was barred from solo practice, the state Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Thursday.

He was accused of prescribing drugs “without appropriate screening and/or medical justification” while working one day a week as a private practitioner in Medford.

Dragert agreed to the suspension under a consent order that resolved allegations against him, the statement said.

It said Dragert, a full-time psychiatrist with Princeton House Behavioral Health in Princeton, worked Saturdays at Community Treatment Options in Medford.

After receiving a tip in May 2017, inspectors with the state Division of Consumer Affairs found records at the Medford practice had “inadequate medical histories” and “sparse notes” regarding patient visits, the statement said.

The state Board of Medical Examiners determined Dragert “did not have sufficient control of the office or staff while in private practice,” it added.

The board also found that, “despite inquiries from the police,” patients were “becoming aggressive and unwilling to follow appropriate (drug) prescribing protocol."

The statement said Dragert continued writing unwarranted prescriptions even as he acknowledged “he was not appropriately managing the opioid dependence of his patients.”

Under the consent order, Dragert will spend one year on active suspension, followed by a year on probation. He has held his medical license since 2008.

The order imposed the same terms in suspending a registration that allows Dragert to prescribe controlled substances.

He also must pay a $30,000 civil penalty and pass approved courses in ethics, record-keeping and prescribing drugs, the Attorney General's Office said.

Dr. John Wilkins, the owner of the Medford practice, could not be reached for comment.

The state’s announcement included no allegations of wrongdoing by Wilkins. His license remains active, according to the Division of Consumer Affairs.

Source: “License suspended for doctor at Medford practice,” Cherry Hill Courier-Post, November 1, 2018, URL: https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2018/11/01/doctor-robert-dragert-medford-license-suspended-opiate-prescriptions/1852412002/