A Brownfield doctor has pleaded guilty to distributing Schedule IV controlled substances.
This comes after DEA agents raided Dr. Dennis D. Tedford’s office in May 2018.
The KCBD Investigates Team was there as agents from Dallas and Lubbock worked together to serve a federal warrant at his office at the Brownfield Regional Medical Center Clinic located at 703 E. Felt Street.
According to his plea deal, Tedford dispensed a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of Alprazolam and Carisoprodol for a reason other than a legitimate medical purpose and in the usual course of his professional practice.
Tedford was practiced family medicine with a specialization in obstetrics.
He earned his medical degree in 1986 and was licensed in Texas in June 1993.
According to court documents, he was never registered in Texas as a pain management physician.
On January 31, 2018, a source at a Lubbock pharmacy contacted the DEA to express concerns about Tedford’s prescribing practice.
The source, “stated that Dr. Tedford prescribed high quantities of hydrocodone, up to 360 tablets per month, along with Xanax and carisoprodol.
The source states that individuals were driving from Lubbock to Brownfield to see Dr. Tedford and were then returning to Lubbock to fill prescriptions.”
DEA diversion investigators compared Tedford’s prescribing practices to all physicians in Terry County, Lubbock County from march 2, 2016 to March 2, 2018.
They learned Tedford ranked ninth for total number of prescriptions issued for hydrocodone in Lubbock and Terry Counties combined.
“Dr. Tedford prescribed 524, 777 doses of hydrocodone to 341 patients during the time period…” the court documents state.
Investigators said Tedford was ranked first in the total number of prescriptions issued for carisoprodol in the counties as well.
“Dr. Tedford prescribed 96, 763 doses of carisoprodol during this time period to 102 patients,” the documents state.
Investigators said they also learned Tedford was writing prescriptions for the highest strengths available.
The DEA said investigators interviewed pharmacists at six locations in Brownfield and Lubbock who all expressed concerns at the large quantities of hydrocodone Tedford prescribed to patients.
A former employee at the clinic where Tedford worked told investigators they believed people were driving long distances to see Tedford for prescriptions for controlled substances and then selling the drugs.
During the May raid, agents seized patient files and had a board certified doctor out of California review them.
According to the court documents, the doctor said in 10 of 12 cases reviewed, Tedford wrote prescriptions for controlled substances for no legitimate medical purpose.
Tedford could be sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
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