Dr. Gerber's pill counts didn't save overdose victim

SANDUSKY — Dr. Greg Gerber said he regularly checked to make sure his patients didn't abuse opioids.But a coroner's report of one of Gerber's patients indicates there were signs medicine was being abused.A federal judge placed a temporary restraining order on Gerber's ability to prescribe controlled substances after the Department of Justice raised concerns about his prescribing habits for opioids.The department alleges Gerber improperly wrote prescriptions for opioid painkillers to patients without an accepted medical diagnosis for the medicine.One of his patients, a 63-year-old man, died from a fentanyl overdose in 2013 after he abused prescription medication, according to a Huron County Coroner's report.Before the man was Gerber's patient, he received seven prescriptions for Oxycodone from four different doctors. The prescriptions were never for more than a 10-day supply. He didn't receive prescriptions from any other doctor after he became Gerber's patient in March 2013.Gerber wrote 15 controlled substances prescriptions for chronic back pain over the course of six visits with the patient. Most of the prescriptions were for a 30-day supply.On the patient's final visit in July 2013, Gerber prescribed 180 doses of Oxycodone, 60 doses of Dronabinol and 15 doses of fentanyl. The patient died on Aug. 1, 2013.The affidavit of a DEA investigator states Gerber conducted pill counts, which is when patients bring in their medication for the staff to count the doses to make sure the drugs aren't being abused or diverted.A former patient told the DEA Gerber was a typical "pill doctor" and he was dismissed from the practice after he missed one pill count while he traveled for work.But the wife of the man who died said her husband frequently took more medicine than he was prescribed "because he liked the buzz" and regularly ran out of pills early, the coroner's verdict states.As part of a joint investigation, the DEA and the Board of Pharmacy sent an undercover agent to Gerber's office as a patient. The agent saw no evidence of an electronic medical record system and it appeared all his records were hardcopies.He allegedly gave the undercover agent 18 prescriptions for controlled substances, according to a DEA agent's affidavit.At the first visit, the undercover patient told Gerber she'd taken a friend's Percocet before when the pain flared up. She also said she didn't have any pain on the day of the visit, but was still prescribed Oxycodone by Gerber.During another visit, the agent told Gerber "the weed pills were fun" and she took two pills to help her sleep when he told her to start one.Reach reporter Michael Harrington at michaelharrington@sanduskyregister.com, follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterscreenshot of photo Dr. Gregory Gerber allegedly texted to an undercover agent.