BY
NORMAN J CLEMENT RPH., DDS, NORMAN L.CLEMENT PHARM-TECH, MALACHI F. MACKANDAL PHARMD, BELINDA BROWN-PARKER, IN THE SPIRIT OF JOSEPH SOLVO ESQ., IN THE SPIRIT OF REV. C.T. VIVIAN, JELANI ZIMBABWE CLEMENT, BS., MBA., IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HON. PATRICE LUMUMBA, IN THE SPIRIT OF ERLIN CLEMENT SR., WILLIE GUINYARD BS., JOSEPH WEBSTER MD., MBA, BEVERLY C. PRINCE MD., FACS., LEROY BAYLOR, JAY K. JOSHI MD., MBA, ADRIENNE EDMUNDSON, ESTER HYATT PH.D., WALTER L. SMITH BS., IN THE SPIRIT OF BRAHM FISHER ESQ., MICHELE ALEXANDER MD., CUDJOE WILDING BS, MARTIN NDJOU, BS., RPH., IN THE SPIRIT OF DEBRA LYNN SHEPHERD, BERES E. MUSCHETT, STRATEGIC ADVISORS
THE HARVEST
The Story of Walter F. Wrenn, III., MD
On the 17th of February, I was awakened to my house is filled with local police, DEA agents, and law enforcement officers from the Attorney Generals Office in Pennsylvania. I was told that there was a warrant for my arrest for Medicaid Fraud. This was a pretext, my practice doesn’t take Medicaid; I would find out later that there were more serious charges.
I was handcuffed and taken to the local police station. My firearms were seized. At the police station, I was questioned by the arresting officers and DEA agents. Since I felt that there must be a mistake, I spent 2 hours talking. I learned my first rule, Never Talk Unless Your Attorney is Present.
However, I can honestly say that I learned a lot from my Ill-advised conversation. I also noticed an attitudinal change in the examiners. Since I lived in NJ and the charges were filed in Pennsylvania, where I had practiced medicine for 42 years, I was transferred to Camden County Jail.
The van is an example of cruel and unusual punishment. The van has two sides separated by a metal wall.4 seats to aside. As an 80-year-old, I couldn’t get in or out without first taking off my handcuffs. My knees were jammed. I was in this van for two and a half hours.
I was processed through the system and finally arrived in my cell. I was given size 18—sneakers without laces since they had no size 13 slip-on. The bottom of the prison uniform had no elasticity, so I had to hold them up when I walked. The prison reminded me of a slave ship as most of the inmates were black. Everyone other than myself was there because of illegal drugs.
Why anyone would want to come back to that environment is beyond my imagination and completely illogical. The toilet was metal. My cellmate told me he sat on his sneakers. After several days they moved me from the second floor to the first floor. Then the fun began. The cell was cold. One morning a third prisoner was moved in with a mat placed in a plastic container on the floor.
My original cellmate moved in with one of his friends, and once again, there were 2 of us. That didn’t last long. Another individual was added who was inactive opiate withdrawal. He spent most of his time near the toilet vomiting. 2 days later, he was given Suboxone. Since I had to be extradited to Pennsylvania, I had to go through a process. I signed papers waving my rights on the 19th.
ILLEGAL ASSAULT ON PHYSICIANS
I was charged with Drug Delivery, Resulting In Death and involuntary manslaughter. Since then, I have found many physicians around the country who have been charged similarly or with other murder charges. In my case, in addition to prescribed medication, my patient had cocaine in her system.
The coroner listed the cause of death to be an “Accident.” The prosecutors expert only reviewed 5 office visits and treatment, not the treatment is given over more than 20 years. These records were not available until they were seized on the same day I was arrested.
Over the course of treatment, I ordered MRIs of the patient’s cervical and lumbar spine, sent her to a pain specialist for non-surgical treatment and two neurosurgeons. She was operated on on her lumbar spine. Afterward, she developed foot drop, urinary and bowel incontinence, and an increase in pain, requiring an increase in her opiate pain medication.
It is my belief that once the patient takes illegal drugs, the cause of death cannot be determined. In addition, cocaine and opiates have opposing actions, further complicating the cause of death. I worked for 5 years as a research associate in cardiovascular pharmacology at McNeil Laboratories. An EKG machine monitored all of the animals I worked on. All of the animals died as a result of a cardiac event leading to a cardiopulmonary arrest.
1.My question to you is ; if a person is not on a cardiac monitor, how can death be determined?
2. If a person has cancer and dies , was the cause of death lung cancer or cardiopulmonary arrest?
3. Did they die of lung cancer or with lung cancer?
4. A bigger and more important question you may not be able to answer is how a physician who prescribes an FDA-approved medication in appropriate doses be charged with murder?
5. What position does your specialty take concerning causes of death when multiple drugs are found in a patient’s system?
I went before the Judge by zoom on Monday and was extradited on Wednesday. I spent time at the Police Headquarters in Philadelphia, where I was in the cell with a street person who spoke little English but was pleasant.
I had a bail hearing with pre-arranged conditions. Surrender my medical license, DEA license, and passport. Also, agree not to practice medicine. My bail was 100,000.00.
ASSAULTS ON MEDICAL PROTOCOLS BY DEA LAW ENFORCEMENT
I was released Thursday morning. My patients were left without medical care. My office manager and I used our system to try to refer patients. Those patients of mines who were on Suboxone were referred to physicians who did not share my philosophy on dosing or concurrent combinations even though they were stable on these medications for years.
Those patients who were on opiate pain medication couldn’t find a doctor who would see them. How cruel and non-caring can physicians be?
Have we come to a time in the practice of medicine that we care nothing about the welfare of patients seeking care and refusing those on controlled medication that assist them in carrying out their activities of daily living? What has fostered this attitude?
Could it be that due to the hysteria and unfounded charges and imprisonment of physicians who prescribe opiate pain medication and have been blamed unfairly for opiate addiction and increase in death?
Opiate addiction is not caused by physicians who prescribe opiate pain medication or by pharmaceutical companies who make opiate pain medication. It is caused entirely and solely by how the opiate medication works in the body. This medication attaches to opiate receptors in the brain and body and is detoxified by the liver.
This process has nothing to do with the milligram (MME) dose or whether it is a short-acting or long-acting medication. It is the physiology of all opiate medication, legal or illegal. An environment has been created where proper care and treatment have been threatened.
How can you lose your medical license, DEA license, and right to practice medicine without being convicted?
A PHYSICIAN’S WHO FOUGHT BACK
Since my arrest, I have found out that I am not alone. More than 2000 physicians have been arrested on various charges, lost their ability to practice medicine, convicted and imprisoned, and unfortunately committed suicide.
6.Where have our many medical societies been?
7. Why did I have to be arrested for becoming aware of these occurrences?
We need to question the DEA as well.
It’s time to make the medical community aware of these events. It’s time to make the public aware as it eventually could affect them like it affected my patients and office staff. We have to question our legal authority as to why physicians are being targeted, and drug dealers continue to thrive. We need to question the DEA as well.
8. When was the last time they prosecuted a major drug dealer?
9. Could it be it’s safer to go after physicians than drug dealers?
Another important and maybe the most important thing I found out was how the process starts. The insurance company is constantly collecting data on every physician. If you cost them money due to your prescribing practices, you become a target.
In my case, I was the number one prescriber of benzodiazepines—77,000 prescriptions with my nearest person writing 33,000 prescriptions. The insurance company then makes a referral to a task force. From that time, due to a monetary whistle-blower type reward, the physician is a target. They continue their investigation until they can find a way to bring charges.
Their goal and the insurance company’s goal is to put you out of business. Not because you are a bad physician or because you are a danger to your patients but because you cost the insurance companies money. Just like the insurance companies use prior authorizations, formulary restrictions, they now use the judicial system to improve their bottom line.
It’s time to fight back.
10. Why do we practice in an environment where we can’t determine what studies you can order, what medications you can prescribe, how much you can charge, how many patients you can see, how much time you can spend with your patients?
11. How can any entity that is not involved in direct patient care dictate to those who do?
12. How can they legislate medicine?
It’s more than enough time; Medical Doctors Must Fight Back the list goes on and on.
Wake up. You may be next!!!
For once, the medical profession needs to come together to protect its very existence. The AMA, NMA, and those numerous specialty organizations need to come together and provide service for their members. Wake up. You may be next.
Walter F. Wrenn, III., MD.
THIS IS PRECISELY WHY THE UNITED STATES DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION (DEA)NEEDS ABOLISHING
FOR NOW, YOU ARE WITHIN
THE NORMS
