Former Tomah VA chief of staff David Houlihan, M.D. agreed to surrender his medical license to avoid further investigation after a three year battle. Sen. Ron Johnson stated that Dr. David Houlihan reported agreed to permanently surrender his license to practice medicine in the state of Wisconsin. The psychiatrist will no longer be able to practice medicine in the state despite never admitting fault of malpractice at Tomah VA. Dr. Houlihan and his supporters tried to keep the lid on the opiate scandal that led to injury and death to numerous veterans.
The state Medical Examining Board had accepted the agreement between David Houlihan and the state Department of Safety and Professional Services. The DSP has agreed to drop investigation into three complaints against Houlihan and not seek reimbursement for attorney costs and investigative costs, in return Houlihan must surrender his license to practice medicine in the state of Wisconsin permanently. He will also be barred from reapply for a medical license in the state.
Houlihan will lose the psychiatry practice in La Crosse after he was terminated at Tomah VA in 2015. The agreement is the result of an investigation that started in 2014 where doctors were found to be overprescribing opioids which earned the facility to be dubbed as Candy Land. Some patients had taken to calling Houlihan as the Candy Man because of how he freely prescribed painkillers.
The medical examining board found probable cause that Houlihan engaged in unprofessional conduct after the death of 35-year-old Marine veteran Jason Simcakowski. Houlihan had prescribed another opiate to the veteran on top of the 14 drugs that Simcakowski was already taking. The veteran died of mixed drug toxicity at the facility.
A VA report from 2015 stated that patients at the Tomah VA facility were more likely to receive high doses of painkillers than patients at other VA hospitals. The report also states that there was an atmosphere of fear among staff members at the Tomah VA facility that affected patient care according to a report by Military.com.
The agreement is a state victory against the federal government’s attempt to whitewash the unprofessional conduct of a powerful employee. The Department of Veteran Affairs needs to review its disrespect for state law and patient rights in its medical facilities like Tomah VA this is according to the author of an article by DisabledVeterans.org.
