Dr. Dennis Tedford of Brownfield accepted a plea deal on Monday for illegally dispensing a schedule IV substance. If approved by the court, the deal calls for Tedford to serve a maximum of five years in federal prison.
Court records said Dr. Tedford admitted he prescribed high quantities of hydrocodone – “up to 360 tablets per month” – along with Xanax, alprazolam and carisoprodol.
“Dr. Tedford prescribed 524,777 doses of hydrocodone to 341 patients during the time period [March 2, 2016 – March 2, 2018],” court records said. “Dr. Tedford prescribed 96,763 doses of carisoprodol during this time period to 102 patients.”
“Dr. Tedford stated that during his 25 years of practicing in Brownfield, there were about a half a dozen unexplained and out of hospital deaths,” court records also said.
Investigators asked another doctor to review some of Dr. Tedford’s patient files. Court records said 10 of the 12 cases involved the use of controlled substances “for no legitimate medical purpose.”
The investigation started when a “source of information” from a Lubbock pharmacy contacted federal investigators.
