A second radiologist from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has pleaded guilty on charges related to the illegal distribution of Vicodin to patients. The plea was one of a series of judgments announced against healthcare providers accused of unlawfully distributing controlled substances.
Dr. Omar Almusa on June 27 pleaded guilty to three counts: one count of unlawfully dispensing and distributing schedule II controlled substances, one count of conspiracy to distribute schedule II controlled substances, and one count of healthcare fraud, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania.
Almusa was one of two UPMC radiologists indicted in March 2018 on charges of unlawfully prescribing Vicodin and then filing for insurance reimbursement of the prescriptions. Investigators accused him of distributing "massive quantities" of Vicodin over three years.
Almusa was employed by UPMC but was terminated after medical center police filed charges against him on March 1 in connection with the case, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The second UPMC radiologist, Dr. Marios Papachristou, pleaded guilty to two counts in the case, according to a press release issued in May by the U.S. attorney's office. Almusa will be sentenced in November.
Almusa's case was one of five prosecutions against healthcare providers announced in June by the office as part of the nationwide crackdown on illegal opioid use.
