State Seeks to Revoke Medical License of California Psychiatrist Gregory Gray; Patient Died

May 17, 2019

On March 28, 2019, the Medical Board of California issued an Accusation against psychiatrist Gregory Gray, seeking to suspend or revoke his license based on allegations of gross negligence, repeated negligent acts, and failure to maintain adequate and accurate records regarding a patient who died under his treatment.

Dr. Gray treated the patient—a 36-year-old woman with a history of anxiety and depression—beginning in February 2011.

The Board’s description of Gray’s treatment of the patient goes on for eight pages in which the Board determined that Gray:

• Failed to recognize a pattern of overuse of prescribed benzodiazepines. [Benzodiazepines are highly addictive psychoactive drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, insomnia, and seizures.]

• Prescribed an increase in benzodiazepine dosing even after observing that the patient’s speech was slurred 

• Failed to re-assess the patient’s alcohol use beyond accepting her denial 

• Prescribed the patient Xanax despite having diagnosed her as dependent on benzodiazepines and despite the patient have complained of oversedation on a different benzodiazepine 

• Failed to recognize or document that he was issuing twice as many benzodiazepine prescriptions as were called for on his treatment plan for the patient 

• Continued to prescribe the patient the opioid drug Percocet, despite the patient’s history of benzodiazepine dependence, without documenting a discussion of the risks of combining opioids with benzodiazepines—including oversedation, respiratory depression, and death [Opioids are a highly-addictive class of drugs prescribed for pain relief.]

• Failed to recognize patterns of unreliable and/or aberrant use of prescription medications and adequately assess the patient before prescribing more Percocet 

• Throughout the course of treatment, failed to adequately and accurately document the issuance of controlled substance prescriptions for Klonopin and Xanax

Over the approximately two years that he treated the patient, Gray prescribed the following drugs in continually changing combinations and doses: Amitriptyline, Cymbalta, Elavil, Effexor, Nortriptyline, Prozac, Remeron, Trazodone, and Wellbutrin (antidepressants); Klonopin, Valium, Xanax (benzodiazepines), Norco, Percocet, and Ultram (opioids), Ambien (sedative-hypnotic), Fioricet Midrin, (painkiller), Topomax (anti-convulsant), and Lithium (mood stabilizer).

On May 16, 2013, the Ventura County Medical Examiner informed Gray that the patient had died.

Source: Accusation in the Matter of the Accusation Against Gregory Edward Gray, M.D., Physician’s and Surgeon’s Certificate No. G52593, Case No. 800-2017-036125, Medical Board of California, March 28, 2019.