New Portland Practitioner Voluntarily Surrenders License for Improperly Prescribing Pain Medication

June 22, 2009

CONTACT: Kate Simmons (207) 626-8577

June 22, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New Portland Practitioner Voluntarily Surrenders License for Improperly Prescribing Pain Medication

AUGUSTA -Virginia A. LaNoce of New Portland has entered into a consent agreement with the Maine State Board of Nursing to voluntarily surrender her advanced practice registered nurse license. LaNoce violated several statutes and rules of the Maine State Board of Nursing, including engaging in incompetence in practice, unprofessional conduct, inadequate preparation, and failing to take appropriate action to safeguard patients. She was also found to have prescribed, dispensed, administered and distributed drugs in an unsafe manner.

?It is the duty of healthcare providers to correctly prescribe pain and other medication to patients,? stated Attorney General Janet T. Mills. ?Overprescribing medication fuels the abuse of prescription drugs in Maine. We can greatly reduce prescription drug diversion by disciplining health care providers who irresponsibly overprescribe dangerous drugs.?

The Maine State Board of Nursing entered into a consent agreement with LaNoce after reviewing her patient records. LaNoce?s records showed that she failed to keep adequate records, failed to assess patients before prescribing narcotics, prescribed narcotics that were inappropriate for the diagnosis, and failed to perform consistent drug screens of patients receiving controlled pain medication. In one instance, LaNoce mailed a prescription to a patient?s friend who filled the prescription and gave it to the patient who was in jail. LaNoce should have relied upon the health care provider at the jail to assess the patient for pain.

Attorney General Mills would like to thank Detective Pete Lizanecz of the Office of the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General John Richards for their extensive work on this case.

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