GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A doctor who already has a suspended medical license was again penalized by the state after new allegations were filed against him.
Dr. Donald Hardman was exposed by Target 8 in 2015 after state authorities found he was inappropriately prescribing narcotic drugs. Investigators also accused him of having an intimate relationship with a patient for whom he was providing drugs.
Because of those allegations, Hardman’s license was suspended for six months and one day in November 2015. He would not get his license back until the state approved its reinstatement, records show. As of Tuesday, state records showed his license remains suspended.
Yet another complaint was filed by the state in November 2016 — the third such complaint lodged against the doctor. It accused him of providing prescription drugs without appropriate documentation.
>>PDF: November 2016 complaint
The complaint states that Hardman provided Xanax, Vicodin, methadone, Ambien and morphine to a patient over the course of about three months in 2012. He didn’t have the proper documentation for the prescriptions in the patient’s medical chart, state officials alleged.
“[Hardman] diagnosed [the patient] with osteoarthritis but did not document taking a physical examination, neglected to note a detailed patient history, and instead, relied on her assertion of her diagnosis,” the complaint reads. “[Hardman] also failed to document a treatment plan beyond prescription medications, including opioids, and did not document any functional treatment goals.”
Hardman, who had already paid $10,000 to settle the 2015 complaint, was fined $7,500 in a settlement of the 2016 complaint.
>>PDF: 2016 settlement details
While Hardman’s license remains suspended, his offices are still operating. Both West Michigan Medical Associates in Walker and East Michigan Medical Associates in Flint remain open to patients with nurse practitioners on staff. A staff member at the Walker office spoke briefly with Target 8 Tuesday and said she would ask one of the nurse practitioners to come out to comment. Instead, someone came and locked the office door. No one came out to comment.
Joy Einhueser was the patient with whom Hardman was accused of having an intimate relationship. She went public with her story hoping to warn others. At the time of her interview with Target 8 in 2015, she was battling cancer. The disease claimed her life in 2016.
Her husband Ken Einhueser continues to monitor Hardman’s case.
