Peter J. Waidzunas, D.D.S.
Outcome
Illinois IDFPR issued Consent Order September 11, 2018, suspending Waidzunas's controlled substance license for prescribing Vicodin and Tramadol monthly to a single TMJ patient from 1996–2018 without adequate monitoring for addiction; DEA issued Order to Show Cause March 4, 2019, and revoked Certificate of Registration No. BW7668835 effective October 21, 2019.
Details
Peter J. Waidzunas, D.D.S. — 22-Year Monthly Opioid Prescribing Without Monitoring (1996–2019)
Outcome: The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued a Consent Order on September 11, 2018, suspending Waidzunas's controlled substance license for prescribing Vicodin and Tramadol monthly to a single TMJ patient from 1996 to 2018 without adequate monitoring; the DEA issued an Order to Show Cause on March 4, 2019, and revoked his Certificate of Registration No. BW7668835 effective October 21, 2019.
Peter J. Waidzunas, D.D.S. was an Illinois dentist who held DEA Certificate of Registration No. BW7668835. The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation alleged that Waidzunas prescribed Vicodin and Tramadol on a monthly basis between 1996 and 2018 — a 22-year period — to treat a patient with temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ) syndrome. During this entire period, Waidzunas failed to obtain ongoing diagnostic and radiological studies to verify and confirm the extent of the patient's continued TMJ symptoms.
Additionally, Waidzunas authorized numerous prescriptions for controlled substances without properly evaluating and monitoring the patient for signs and symptoms of drug addiction or abuse — a fundamental clinical obligation for any practitioner providing long-term opioid therapy. The IDFPR alleged that these omissions constituted violations of the Illinois Dental Practice Act and the Illinois Controlled Substances Act.
On September 11, 2018, the IDFPR issued a Consent Order suspending Waidzunas's Illinois controlled substance license, which rendered him without state authority to handle controlled substances in Illinois. On March 4, 2019, the DEA issued an Order to Show Cause based on this loss of state authority. The DEA revoked his registration effective October 21, 2019. The Decision and Order was published in the Federal Register on September 20, 2019.
Primary Source: Peter J. Waidzunas, D.D.S.; Decision and Order (Fed. Reg. Sep. 20, 2019)
How Crucible Prevents This
Waidzunas prescribed controlled opioids to a single patient monthly for 22 years without obtaining diagnostic studies to verify ongoing TMJ need and without monitoring the patient for signs of addiction — a multi-decade prescribing failure. Crucible's long-term opioid prescribing controls, which require periodic re-evaluation documentation for any patient receiving opioids beyond 90 days, would have flagged this patient for mandatory reassessment annually from the outset.
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