State board strips psychiatrist of license after series of run-ins

A Chesapeake psychiatrist who was first investigated for improperly prescribing drugs more than two decades ago has lost his medical license.

The Virginia Board of Medicine's decision last week to revoke the license of Igor Magier, who once had a practice on Cedar Lakes Drive, was unusual. In 2009, the board took this action against only three of the 31,200 medical doctors licensed in the state.

Magier was first put on probation by the board in 1989. Since then, he has received a fine, two reprimands, suspension of his license and, finally, the board's latest and harshest punishment.

In court papers filed last week, the board revoked Magier's license for failing to comply with a 2008 order to complete an assessment of his competency after a one-year suspension for improperly prescribing narcotics.

Reached by phone Tuesday, the 69-year-old Magier said he closed his practice in 2007.

"I'm grateful the board allowed me to practice for 43 years," he said. "I always looked for the best treatment for the patient, for the best outcome."

But he conceded he had run-ins with Board of Medicine investigators who said he overprescribed pain medications and tranquilizers.

Magier's case is the most recent in a string of board actions against doctors who improperly prescribe narcotics. Chronic-pain management has become an area of concern because of the potential for addiction.

Last year, Virginia Beach rheumatologist Stephen Plotnick agreed to give up his license for at least two years after being accused of contributing to patient deaths by improperly prescribing narcotics. Two other Virginia Beach doctors, Dr. Mohammed Soori and Dr. Linda Trotman, also agreed to suspensions last year over improper narcotic prescriptions.

The board suspended the licenses of 44 doctors last year. Other actions it can take are reprimands, monetary penalties, probations and limitations to licenses.

In a suspension, a doctor loses the privilege of practicing for a set amount of time and often must meet certain requirements, such as more education, before being able to practice again. A revocation is indefinite, but a doctor can petition the board for reinstatement after three years.

The public watchdog group Public Citizen ranks states on regulation of medical doctors. In the most recent study, Virginia ranked 28th in serious disciplinary actions per 1,000 doctors between 2006 and 2008.

Magier first garnered the attention of the board in 1988, when he was investigated for improperly giving prescription drugs to seven patients between 1984 and 1988.

He was accused of prescribing excessive doses of drugs such as Thorazine, oxycodone and Xanax, which are government-controlled, addictive narcotics. The board said he prescribed them without good therapeutic reason to people he knew, or should have known, were drug-dependent.

He was put on probation in 1989 and was prohibited from prescribing that type of medication. The probation, which ended in 1993, also required him to have a psychiatric evaluation and take medical education courses in administering controlled substances.

In 2002, he was again reprimanded by the board, this time for failing to update information on a Web-based information profile the state designed to help patients check out their doctors. Magier failed to note on his profile that he had surrendered his license to practice medicine in North Carolina in 1990.

He was fined $1,000. The North Carolina Medical Board does not make documents leading up to disciplinary hearings public, so no further information is available on why the hearing was set.

The reprimands and education classes did not prevent him from running into trouble with the board again. In 2008, his license was suspended after board investigators found he had prescribed medications such as Xanax and Prozac between February 2000 and July 2004 without proper assessment, documentation, monitoring and treatment.

One of two patients cited in the investigation ended up in the hospital for detoxification in June 2004, according to Board of Medicine records.

The board suspended his license for a month, after which he would be on indefinite probation subject to certain terms, one of which was a competency assessment within nine months. He was sent multiple notices to complete the assessment.

Magier, in turn, sent a letter in June 2009 stating, "I have no plans to use my time or money in this way."

Elizabeth Simpson, (757) 446-2635,elizabeth.simpson@pilotonline.com