Stefanie King, owner of Athens, Pa.-based Center for Holistic Integrative Mental Health, has pleaded guilty to prescribing medications without a supervising physician and false billing, The Daily Review reported March 18.
Ms. King pleaded guilty to multiple felony counts including Medicaid fraud, forgery, tampering with public records, possession of controlled substances, theft and insurance fraud, according to court documents obtained by the publication. She has relinquished her nurse practitioner's license and is required to pay $450,000 in restitution.
She allegedly falsely billed $300,000 to private insurers and $100,000 to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Ms. King is also said to have prescribed over 3,750 prescriptions without the supervision of a collaborating physician.
Ms. King was also accused of having a sexual relationship with a patient at her facility and fraudulently billing private insurers for the time. She allegedly began a relationship with a second patient and prescribed medication to them after medical care had finished.
Nurse practitioners in Pennsylvania are required to enter into collaborative agreements with physicians in order to perform medical diagnoses and to prescribe controlled substances.