ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A Virginia doctor has pleaded guilty to drug charges after being accused of prescribing excessive dosages of opioids to patients for years.
Lino Cueto Montilla was a licensed obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) who did not specialize in pain management, nor did he receive any formal training on how to treat patients suffering from chronic pain, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of Virginia. He was charged with "maintaining a drug-involved premises."
From 1999 to 2015, Montilla worked as an OB-GYN with Fairfax OB-GYN Associates, which rarely required him to prescribe pain medication to his patients. In 2016, Montilla began treating patients at Fairfax Pain Clinic (FPC) , a facility that specializes in pain management.
From January 2016 through September 2020, Montilla worked as the primary doctor prescribing pain medication at FPC. The clinic was only open during the morning, two days per week. Over a span of three hours on those days, Montilla would see about 20 patients, spending less than 10 minutes with each one and then prescribing them opioids.
Over the course of nearly four years, Montilla prescribed high opioid doses without confirming diagnoses, performing medical examinations, or reviewing medical records, the USAO said. Montilla rarely recommended physical therapy or any other form of treatment for chronic pain to his patients.
While prescribing these drugs, Montilla kept very limited patient files and failed to document why he was prescribing such high opioid dosages.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 9 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
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