Board Upset by Leniency in Drug Case

The state Board of Medical Quality Assurance (BMQA) is contesting as too lenient an administrative law judge’s recommendation that an El Cajon doctor accused of wrongfully prescribing Quaalude and other drugs be allowed to continue practicing medicine.

Dr. John Welch, 54, should be allowed to retain his medical license on five years’ probation despite his repeated sale of controlled medications to patients and undercover drug agents, administrative law judge Marguerite C. Geftakys recommended in a decision released Tuesday. Geftakys also recommended that Welch be required to perform 240 hours of community service.

But BMQA officials have rejected Geftakys’ recommendation as too

lenient, and advised Welch and his attorneys to prepare either written or oral arguments explaining why the board shouldn’t order a harsher punishment. The BMQA has the final say in the case unless Welch chooses to take the case to court.

Geftakys’ recommended penalty is “not in keeping with the disciplinary guidelines of the BMQA,” said Deputy Atty. Gen. Holly Wilkens, who represented the BMQA during the administrative hearings in San Diego from April 23 through May 3. Welch said “the allegations certainly could support a revocation.”

The state suit filed against him Feb. 21 alleges that the doctor sold prescription drugs in clear plastic bags to his patients and state undercover agents. The suit also claims Welch prescribed Quaaludes, Ritalin and sedatives to patients without giving a “good faith” medical examination first. Many of his patients were known drug addicts, the state suit claims.

As a result, Welch’s license was temporarily revoked March 8 by Superior Court Judge Mack Lovett.

Welch--who has practiced medicine in California since 1960--was already on three years’ probation for a 1984 misdemeanor criminal conviction in which he sold controlled substances to a person not under his care. Wilkens has maintained that Welch violated his probation by continuing to sell controlled substances to patients.

Geftakys recommended that Welch’s license be placed on probation for five years and that he be required to keep records of all drugs prescribed.

Geftakys’ recommendation, if adopted by the board, would not limit Welch’s ability to prescribe drugs, Wilkens complained. “I’m sure she’s (Geftakys is) fully aware of what the guidelines call for. She’s just chosen to disregard those guidelines.”

The next step is for Welch’s attorneys to go to court to ask a judge to lift the Feb. 21 order that temporarily revoked his license, Wilkens said.

Welch’s attorney, John Mitchell, declined comment Tuesday.

The case could drag on for months, even years, Wilkens said. Even when the BMQA issues its final decision, “the doctor has the right to petition the board for reconsideration, file a writ . . . appealing the board’s decision, and so on.”

In a telephone interview, Geftakys declined to comment at length on the board’s action and Wilkens’ remarks. “The proposed decision reflects my consideration of the matter,” she said.