July 2,2016
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, According to the Attorney Generals office , a Ridgewood psychiatrist agreed to have his license temporarily suspended amid allegations he “indiscriminately” prescribed drugs to patients and allowed his wife to use his pre-signed prescription blanks to dispense drugs like Adderall and Xanax to his patients.
Dr. James Cowan Jr., 72, of Ridgewood ,practiced from his home office, was also charged with failure to document medical reasons for prescribing the medications he did.
The NJ State Board of Medical Examiners filed a consent order barring Cowan from practicing medicine and writing prescriptions until it takes further action.
In a statement , “The Board takes allegations of doctor misconduct very seriously, especially when they involve the overprescribing of CDS,” said Steve Lee, Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs. “Prescription drug addiction is a nationwide issue and we will not tolerate members of the medical community contributing to the problem by putting drugs into the hands of patients who don’t legitimately need them.”
If you are a patient or know a patient who believes that they have been treated by a licensed health care professional in an inappropriate manner can file an online complaint with the State Division of Consumer Affairs by visiting its website or by calling973-504- 6200.