Psychiatrist Rogelio Naranja Surrenders License Amid Investigation into Prescribing

January 23, 2019

On December 5, 2018, the Arizona medical Board reported that psychiatrist Rogelio D. Naranja surrendered his medical license. 

The Board began investigating Naranja in 2017, after receiving a complaint regarding his care and treatment of four patients, which alleged inappropriate prescribing of controlled substances. 

In reviewing Naranja's care of the four patients, the Board's Medical Consultant identified deviations from the standard of care with regard to all four patients, including: 

• failure to address psychostimulants being simultaneously prescribed by another provider to a patient

• failing to consider a patients entire medical regimen and prevent untoward drug-to-drug interactions

• relying on alprazolam for a patient with known alcoholism who was in early recovery and

• failing to document a rationale to warrant the risks of prescribing a benzodiazepine to a patient concurrently taking an opioid and sedative hypnotic.

The Medical Consultant identified potential harm for all four patients. 

On October 23, 2018, Naranja notified the Board that he had retired from the practice of medicine and no longer provides patient care. 

Source: Order for Surrender of License and Consent to the Same, in the Matter of Rogelio D. Naranja, M.D, license no. 13156, Case No. MD-17-0836A, before the Arizona Medical Board, December 5, 2018.