SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington State Medical Commission has suspended a Seattle doctor who runs eight pain treatment centers, alleging "consistent violations of the standard of care."
The panel said in a news release Friday that 48-year-old Dr. Frank Li provided substandard medical care that exposed patients to risk of harm for addiction or overdose.
In administrative charges filed Wednesday, the commission alleges the treatment of 18 people who died between 2010 and 2015 "reveal an egregious pattern of substandard medical care." It alleges Li sought out Medicaid patients to maximize billing and hired newly licensed providers with little or no experience in pain management.
Messages left at a Seattle clinic and a listed number for Li were not immediately returned Friday. Li has 20 days to respond to the charges.
Li is the medical director of Seattle Pain Center, with locations in Seattle, Renton, Everett, Tacoma, Olympia, Spokane, Poulsbo and Vancouver.