Trial Begins for Doctor Accused of Writing Oxycodone Scripts After Pain Classes

Wednesday, April 26, 2017 | 0

An FBI agent and a former employee of Dr. Michael Kostenko testified during the first day of the physician's trial on 22 felony charges, including oxycodone distribution, the The Register-Herald reported.

The former employee, Yvonne Wilcox, said she started working for Kostenko when he primarily saw workers' compensation patients out of a clinic on Brookshire Lane in Beckley, West Virginia. She said she considered Kostenko ahead of his time when it came to medical care, recommending alternative ways to deal with pain, such as massage, before that advice became commonplace. His clinic offered supplemental classes in which Kostenko discussed alternative therapies and the importance of diet and exercise, Wilcox said. 

Wilcox testified that she grew concerned about elements of Kostenko's practice after he moved his clinic to his house after being removed from the workers' compensation providers list. He had turned the classes into the primary element of his practice, holding group classes four days per week, three weeks per month, and giving patients who attended an oxycodone prescription.

He had patients sign a narcotics contract in which they agreed to the rules of the program, including pill counts and random urine tests. When Wilcox expressed concern about one patient, Kostenko told her not to worry about it. She left in 2012 because of concerns about legal liability, she said.

FBI agent Jennifer King testified about her investigation into Coal Country Clinic, the practice Kostenko ran out of his home. She testified that patient records were found on multiple computers throughout the house and in storage containers. A total of 3,000 were collected, 20 of which were peer-reviewed by a medical expert who will soon be called to testify. King brought up one day in particular — Dec. 9, 2013 — in which Kostenko allegedly wrote 375 oxycodone prescriptions to 271 patients. 

During opening statements, prosecuting attorney Miller Bushong described the story of a family who went to Kostenko in order to abuse and sell the medication he prescribed. Defense attorney Derrick Lefler said that Kostenko's practice was different but not unlawful.

"It doesn't look like your father's doctor's visit, but that doesn't mean it's not for legitimate medical purposes," he said.

Read The Register-Herald's story here.