Fact Finder 12 looked into the issue of pre-signing prescriptions. According to the DEA practitioner's manual, "a prescription for a controlled substance must be manually signed by the practitioner on the date when issued." There was no evidence Monday on when the seized prescription pads from Schneider's clinic were signed or whether the clinic intended to distribute them.
Several health professionals and organizations in Kansas tell Eyewitness News they don't consider the practice of signing prescription forms safe, even if the prescription is issued on the same day. They said there's too much risk of the form disappearing or being stolen.
A significant part of Monday's testimony included reports from multiple coroners who did autopsies on patients of the Schneider clinic who allegedly died from drug overdoses. You can read the day's first web story at the bottom of this page for more details.
Defense attorneys argue many of the patients who died also had cocaine or meth in their systems or had a significant history of heart disease.
Lawrence Williamson told jurors one man who died stole prescription pain medications from his mother, a Schneider clinic patient. The man swallowed the pain pills and overdosed during a traffic stop by a police officer.
Williamson also said one woman who overdosed had her boyfriend inject her with methodone, and the boyfriend waited to call for help.
This is the second week of testimony in the Schneiders' jury trial. Attorneys expect the trial to last at least two months.
Eyewitness News Reporter Cliff Judy was in the courtroom Monday providing live updates through the blog on this page.
You can also follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/12Judy.
Stay with Eyewitness News for coverage of the Schneider trial on air and online.
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By Cliff Judy (WICHITA, Kan.)
The coroner who examined 31 patient deaths from Dr. Stephen Schneider's clinic says the trend of deaths would be considered disturbing even if she hadn't found evidence of drug overdoses.
Dr. Schneider and his wife, Linda, are on trial accused of over prescribing pain medications at their Haysville medical clinic. Federal prosecutors say the Schneiders contributed to 21 patient deaths by overdose. They also say another 47 deaths can be linked to the clinic.
Dr. Jaime Oeberst of the Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center returned to the stand Monday morning. She performed 29 autopsies and did two external examinations of Schneider patient deaths.
Dr. Oeberst told jurors last week that all of the 31 patient deaths were caused by drug overdoses. She said many of them showed evidence of mixed drug intoxication.
Lawrence Williamson, Dr. Schneider's attorney, challenged the findings by pointing out many of the witnesses had either illegal drugs in their system or a history of heart disease.
During redirect testimony Monday morning, federal prosecutor Tanya Treadway said, "Let's assume what you didn't find. Let's assume that all of these 31 individuals died of heart disease or heart attack. Would that still be disturbing, Dr. Oeberst?"
"In the overall scheme of things, yes," Dr. Oeberst answered.
Eyewitness News Reporter Cliff Judy is in the courtroom providing live updates through the blog on this page.
You can also follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/12Judy.
Stay with Eyewitness News for coverage of the Schneider trial on air and online.
