Doc fined, suspended for overprescribing addictive medication
He prescribed a sleeping pill to one patient for over 11 years
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According to Ministry of Health guidelines, the drugs, including Dormicum, Librax and Valium, should not be prescribed for long-term use as they are addictive.
PHOTO: ST FILE
A doctor who inappropriately prescribed addictive medication to four patients for several years has been slapped with a $15,000 fine and a 16-month suspension.
The Singapore Medical Council (SMC) said on Thursday that Dr Chia Kiat Swan, a 64-year-old general practitioner at Vernon Clinic & Surgery in the Arab Street area, had prescribed "excessive" dosages of benzodiazepines, a class of drugs that includes tranquillisers, sedatives and sleeping pills.
