North Carolina Suspends License of Psychiatrist Kenneth Headen Indefinitely

January 31, 2022

On May 10, 2021, the North Carolina Medical Board ordered that the license of Greensboro psychiatrist Kenneth Headen be indefinitely suspended. This was based on the review of his patient charts after a second license suspension. In 2017 Dr. Headen and the Board entered into a second Consent Order whereby his license was indefinitely suspended. The indefinite suspension was stayed upon numerous conditions.

As a condition of the 2017 Consent Order, the Board performed a follow-up chart review of Dr. Headen’s patient charts. There were detailed significant departures from standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice with regard to his care of seven patients. These departures included poor diagnostic decision-making because of inadequate documented medical justification; poor prescribing because of failure to obtain baseline laboratory studies; unjustified medication changes; poor pharmacovigilance; poor monitoring of vital signs; and inappropriate billing of higher level of service without supporting documentation.

One of his patients had a history of two suicide attempts and subsequent hospitalizations as a result of these attempts. However, in his examination, Headen noted that the patient had no history of suicide attempts, only gestures.

Previously, in 2009, Dr. Headen had entered into a Consent Order with the Board whereby his license was suspended for two years—all but forty-five days of which was stayed—on findings that he had prescribed controlled substances in a manner which departed from standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice. He was therefore prohibited from prescribing Schedule II and III controlled substances and buprenorphine for any purpose.

On January 13, 2020, he voluntarily surrendered his controlled substances privileges to the DEA.

Source: Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order of Discipline in re: Kenneth Jay Headen, M.D., Before the North Carolina Medical Board, May 10, 2021.