Physician’s license revoked in Iceland after prescribing opioids to deceased patient

The Ministry of Health has confirmed a decision by the Director of Health to revoke a physician’s license after it was revealed that the doctor issued prescriptions for opioids and sedatives to a woman for nearly a decade after her death. The woman passed away in Ukraine in 2014, yet the physician continued to write prescriptions for her until last year. Additionally, the doctor provided an assessment of disability for the woman in 2017, three years posthumously.

The investigation began following a tip-off from the police in early 2023 regarding the woman’s death. By the end of last year, the physician’s license was revoked, a decision confirmed by the ministry earlier this month after the doctor appealed. The inquiry also found that the physician had issued multiple prescriptions to others and had previously been reprimanded for excessive prescribing practices, which included temporarily revoking his right to prescribe certain controlled substances.

The doctor claimed he was misled, asserting that the woman had been his patient since 1997 and that he only communicated with her husband after 2014, who informed him that she had moved back to Ukraine but returned periodically to Iceland. However, the ministry noted that his continuation of treatment, despite the woman’s sudden absence, was serious negligence, as she remained registered as alive in the national registry.

Furthermore, the ministry indicated that the volume of prescriptions was excessive and could threaten the health of the patient, who had multiple underlying health conditions. The ministry concluded that no lesser action than revocation of the physician’s license would be appropriate, citing the severity and number of breaches of medical duties.