The trial for former Clarion physician and psychiatrist Thomas Radecki is continuing this week with
Thomas Radecki
professional insight and intense testimonies.
Radecki is on trial for numerous allegations, including distributing a controlled drug Subutex and Suboxone, as well as exchanging drugs for sex with patients.
Subutex and Suboxone are opiate medications and used to treat those coming off other opiate addictions such as heroin or morphine.
Both drugs contain buprenorphine which is addictive and can be abused for recreational purposes.
On April 19, Dr. Russ Carter of Texas, offering professional testimony, took the stand.
Carter works for a drug recovery clinic and has experience with substance abuse, detoxification and treatment for patients who have a dependency on drugs.
Carter was presented with the information and records of the 13 patients Radecki is being held accountable for as to their treatment.
Mark Serge, the senior deputy at the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, questioned Carter about the specific background, substance abuse history and treatment each patient received from Radecki.
While going through each of the patients background stories and records, a lot of them had seem to have similar stories and shared a lot in common as far as addictions go, Carter noted.
Carter said many of them came to Radecki seeking treatment for their addictions as well as mental disorders like ADHD, depression and anxiety.
Radecki allegedly treated the patients with several medications for their conditions, such as Ritalin and Adderall, regardless if it was actually helping or not, Carter said.
In many cases, the patient would come back to Radecki requesting more medication, before permitted to do so.
Carter reported Radecki’s patient records were very inconsistent and to a certain degree were “unreliable.”
Defense attorney John “Jack” Troese asked Carter if treating a patient with the medications Radecki was administering was acceptable by general physician’s standards.
Carter said he was very confident by attempting to treat a patient with those medications and continuing to, in some cases, have sexual relationships with a patient would harm rather than help the patient.
During the testimony, it was explained how a study was done, in which 1,000 cases were examined, where the physician had a sexual relationship with a patient.
Of the 1,000 cases, 90 percent were harmed in some way, 10 percent were admitted for psychiatric help and 1 percent of the patients had committed suicide. Carter put this more into perspective and said, “One percent may not sound like much, but ten people ended their lives.”
Carter said there were many times where past medical history and current substance abuse were ignored when Radecki would administer treatment to them.
In addition, there were cases where he allegedly prescribed medication the patient did not need.
Carter told the court, “If a female is pregnant, they are never a candidate for opiate treatment as it puts the child at risk.”
In some cases, the female was either pregnant or trying to get pregnant while still being prescribed buprenorphine along with other drugs that should not be used when with child.
According to court records, several of the patients Radecki allegedly had relationships with were asked to move in with Radecki while he still provided them with drugs.
One in particular was impregnated by Radecki and still allegedly treated with the same medications.
Carter also explained because Radecki did not follow up with the patients, they deteriorated rather than improved.
Radecki was used as an example by Carter by showing how he (Radecki) did not look at the risk to benefit ratio for his patients.
In addition, Radecki allegedly destroyed the physician to patient relationship which is built on trust by not putting his patients safety and wellbeing above himself, explained Carter.
The trial is expected to continue through the beginning of next week.
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