Doctor Kylie Austin sentenced for forging prescriptions to feed opioid addiction

The Tranmere woman was caught out using her patients’ details to feed a personal addiction, an Adelaide court has heard.

A doctor caught forging prescriptions in the names of others – including her patients – so she could obtain opioid medication to feed an addiction has been convicted but not jailed.

Kylie Frances Austin, 54, of Tranmere forged multiple scripts in the names of others between October 18, 2019, and February 25, 2020 to obtain prescriptions for herself.

She also made handwritten alterations to legitimate scripts, in May and August 2020, to allow authorisation for all repeats to be collected upfront.

Kylie Austin outside court after an earlier hearing. Picture: NCA NewsWIRE / Emma Brasier

In sentencing, Magistrate Paul Foley said her offending occurred after an earlier warning about her prescribing habits from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

He said Austin had collected and paid for the scripts at pharmacies in Torrensville and Stepney.

“You prescribed medication, including narcotics, in the name of other people who had either been patients of yours or otherwise known to you,” he said.

“When subsequently spoken to by police, none of those named as patients had actually been prescribed the medication by you.”

He said the handwritten alterations had caught the attention of a pharmacist in Stepney.

In November 2020, AHPRA referred the allegations to police and Austin was arrested in May this year.

During a search of her home, police found multiple prescription pad books and blank scripts for printing.

The court had earlier heard Austin was suspended as a medical practitioner in May 2020 and signed an undertaking with AHPRA that she “will not practice as a medical practitioner”.

Earlier this month Austin pleaded guilty to two counts of uttering a forged prescription.

During that hearing, the court heard that at the time of her offending Austin was battling a number of stressors including a marriage break down and surgery that prevented her from using some non-opioid medications.

Magistrate Foley said Austin had been able to overcome an opioid addiction since her offending, which he said was “serious”.

“You acknowledge that you were addicted to narcotic medication. Rather than seeking appropriate assistance, you committed these offences – only stopping when AHPRA became involved,” he said.

“As a medical practitioner you were entrusted with the ability to prescribe often powerful drugs to members of the community who clearly need them.

“However you misused that privilege to prescribe medications, largely for yourself, including narcotics, which were prescribed in other peoples’ names and collected and used for yourself.

Mr Foley imposed convictions for both charges and a 12-month good behaviour bond.

He said a decision about Austin’s future in medical practice would be decided by AHPRA.