A doctor kept picking up prescriptions at Publix. Now, she can’t prescribe drugs
A Boca Raton doctor got an emergency restriction order dropped on her license by the Florida Department of Health after she kept showing up to Publix to pick up prescriptions she wrote for patients.
But Tara Dennis is a gynecologist and a Publix pharmacist noticed two of the “patients” were male. And, a pharmacy audit showed an unusual amount of sleep aid Ambien being prescribed out of that pharmacy, many of those prescriptions written by Dr. Tara Dennis.
That led to Dennis’ July 13 arrest on several charges, six of which remain — four counts of fraudulent use of personal identification information, one count of attempt to obtain a controlled substance by fraud and one count of possession of a schedule IV substance.
Dennis posted $24,000 bond after about six hours in Palm Beach County Jail. The emergency restriction order (ERO) prevents her from prescribing or ordering medications.
According to the ERO and the arrest report, Dennis wrote five prescriptions for 420 Ambien 12.5 mg tablets between Jan. 8 and March 12 for four patients and herself. The prescriptions supposedly for her patients she filled at the Publix at 1339 W. Palmetto Park Rd. in Boca Raton, about two miles from her Glades Road office.
The one to herself, which she picked up at CVS, had Dr. Kenneth Konsker’s name as the prescribing physician. Konsker has an office in the same building. Records said Konsker wrote an Ambien prescription for Dennis from Jan. 14 with refills through April 12. Konsker told Boca Raton police on May 7 Dennis wasn’t his patient and he didn’t write any prescriptions for Dennis.
Also, Konsker said, as far as picking up prescriptions for patients, he “stated it is absolutely out of the ordinary, said he does not pick up prescriptions for his patients and does not know of any other doctors who do.”
When Boca Raton police began talking to the patients whose names were on these prescriptions, they got uniform replies that the patients hadn’t seen Dennis in more than six months and didn’t get Ambien from her.
One woman said she received an April 29 text message from Dennis, saying, “Love, if someone says u are my patient and I wrote u ambien, say u are aware and it was filled at palmetto and 95 in Boca...some girl sold me out, so just a heads up.”
The police got the heads up from the patient. Dennis got read her Miranda rights and took advantage of her right to remain silent.
The report says after a Publix pharmacy technician and video identified Dennis as picking up the prescriptions, she was arrested.
This story was originally published October 24, 2019 at 3:55 PM.
