Carlos Enrique Tahuil Ochoa in misconduct ruling over prescriptions to patients
A Sydney doctor who an investigation heard had “trouble saying no” has been found guilty of professional misconduct after prescribing large quantities of addictive drugs to patients.
North Shore
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A Sydney doctor who prescribed large quantities of addictive drugs to patients over the course of almost three years will have strict conditions on his medical registration after a probe by the state’s health watchdog.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found Dr Carlos Enrique Tahuil Ochoa guilty of professional misconduct following a Health Care Complaints Commission investigation into his treatment of seven patients between October 2015 and September 2018.
Mr Ochoa was found to have inappropriately prescribed Schedule 8 medicines – also known as drugs of addiction – including oxycodone, fentanyl and morphine to the patients.
He also prescribed Schedule 4 drugs including diazepam, seroquel, and penthrox without any therapeutic reason and in quantities which were inappropriate.
Dr Ochoa admitted to all grounds of the conduct as well as unsatisfactory professional conduct and professional misconduct.
The tribunal heard Mr Ochoa prescribed some of the medication without taking a specific history of some of the patients use of restricted drugs, including opioids.
He also prescribed large amounts of medication to some of the patients in quantities which “fell significantly below” medical standards.
This included prescribing 13,000 5mg doses of oxycodone to one patient over 910 days – a “high risk” quantity averaging out to 14 tablets per day, far exceeding recommended dosage.
He also prescribed 4238 80mg equivalent doses of oxycontin to another patient over 864 days – equating to almost five tablets daily – two and a half times above maximum twice-daily guidelines.
The tribunal heard some of the patients were exhibiting “drug-seeking” or “doctor-shopping” behaviour and Dr Ochoa should have been altered to this due to warning signs such as patients requesting multiple requests for early scripts, scripts being ‘lost’ or ‘stolen’ and one request for an ‘owing script’.
His misconduct also related to assessments of some of the patients during consultations and “haphazard” record keeping.
Dr Ochoa – who completed his medical degree training in Venezuela before relocating to Australia in 2008 – expressed remorse for his actions and stated that he “deeply regret(ted) not having been more aware”.
“I was, for a lack of a better word perhaps, dazzled by the presentation, by the fact that the patient didn’t appear as a person drug-seeking or involved in anything illicit or illegal unjust,” he said.
“It was very poor decision-making. I can only say, again, if the situation was to repeat and I was given the opportunity to continue to practice this would not happen again.”
In its decision, the tribunal accepted at the time of his inappropriate prescribing he was working in an unsupported environment and under pressure to see a high number of patients per hour.
It also accepted since 2018 Mr Ochoa had engaged with a psychologist, gaining insight into his difficulties in saying “no”. He is now working at a new medical practice where he has support from an appointed supervisor.
The tribunal found his conduct was “significantly below the standard reasonably expected of a practitioner” and imposed conditions on his medical registration including a ban on possessing, supplying, administering or prescribing any drug of addiction.
He will also be subject to periods of supervision, be required to complete an ethics course and can only work in a group practice employing at least two registered medical staff.