South Tucson doctor indicted over opioid prescribing

A grand jury indicted a longtime South Tucson pain doctor for unlawfully prescribing opioids, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office said Wednesday.

Dr. David Alan Ruben, who was suspended by the Arizona Medical Board over his prescribing practices last year, was indicted on 26 felony charges, Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced in a news release.

The charges include fraudulent schemes and artifices and administration of narcotic drugs. The attorney general’s health-care fraud and abuse section is prosecuting the case.

Brnovich said the Tucson district office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and special agents from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office investigated the case.

Ruben’s attorney did not return a call Wednesday afternoon. Ruben, 70, did not respond to a phone call or email.

In an interview with the Star last year related to the medical board suspension, Ruben said his patients were all prescribed low doses of pain medication and that none complained or were in any danger of harm.

Ruben specializes in psychiatry for adults and adolescents, and in addiction and pain medicine. He is the owner of Healthcare Southwest at 2016 S. Fourth Ave. in South Tucson.

The Arizona Medical Board, which licenses Arizona physicians, in the past found that Ruben prescribed opioid painkillers to people who may not have needed them, that he prescribed inappropriate dosages, and that he put patients at risk for addiction.

The board in February 2016 prohibited Ruben from prescribing, administering, or dispensing any Schedule II controlled substance for two years.

Despite the order, Ruben allegedly prescribed the Schedule II substances Percocet, Norco and Oxycodone to 11 patients on 25 separate occasions between September 2016 and March 2017. His medical license was suspended by the Arizona Medical Board effective April 06, 2017.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Schedule II substances have a high potential for abuse, which may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence, the DEA says.

Examples of Schedule II substances include Dilaudid, Demerol, OxyContin, Percocet and fentanyl. Other Schedule II drugs include morphine, opium, codeine and hydrocodone.

Arizona Medical Board investigators say Ruben told them in March 2017 that he was unaware Percocet (Oxycodone plus acetaminophen) and Norco (acetaminophen plus hydrocodone) were classified as Schedule II drugs, the records say.

The Medical Board decided that lacking awareness about the schedule on drugs as defined by the United States Controlled Substances Act “points to a significant gap in knowledge.” Its vote to suspend him was unanimous.

Ruben was previously disciplined for his prescribing practices, dating to 2009 when he received a letter of reprimand and a period of probation after the board found he could have perpetuated a female patient’s drug addiction.

In 2010, Ruben was barred from prescribing certain medications after the state medical board found that he failed to show why several of his patients needed prescriptions.

The board’s censure in 2016 came after a yearlong process that included an eight-day hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings, an independent state agency.

The censure stemmed from accusations that Ruben inappropriately prescribed painkillers to patients.

Among other things, multiple pharmacies complained about prescriptions for controlled substances Ruben wrote for seven patients, board documents show.

Ruben told the Star last year that he was disappointed in the Arizona Medical Board for being “baffled about the issues of opiate prescribing and little concerned about the millions of patients who cannot get pain care.”