Robert Knox, a podiatrist in West Virginia with offices in Southwest Virginia, was convicted last year of the unauthorized distribution of hydrocodone, a felony.
According to an article in the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Knox illegally distributed the hydrocodone in April ’05 to Mike White, a tattoo artist working undercover. Knox first lied, saying that he had seen the undercover informant and had reason for the prescription, when he had not. Knox had treated White a few years prior for a lacerated ear, but had not seen him since. Knox was sentenced to probation for three years and had to pay a $5,000 fine, according to the consent order.
Mike White owned a tattoo parlor and acted as an informant for Southern Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force.
But get this. White was gunned downed a little over two weeks after the incident that led to Knox’s charge.
The article reads: “Well-known and well-connected in both the legal and drug communities, White had been secretly collecting evidence for drug investigators for more than a year when he died. As a result of the surveillance he secured, Maurice and Tonya Gibson, Christina “Tina” Arnoto, Robert “Boo Boo” Gravely and Hector “Chico” Reinat were all charged with a variety of drug distribution, conspiracy and money laundering offenses.”
On July 11 ’06, about two months after his conviction, the West Virginia Board of Medicine revoked Knox’s license to practice podiatry in West Virginia.
There was also a $100,000 malpractice settlement against Knox filed in Aug. ’01. In seventeen years,there have been 108 malpractice suits against podiatrists in Virginia, according to the National Practitioner Data bank.
Knox promised the Virginia board that if his license was reinstated he would not telephone in prescriptions for patients and he would provide patient care only in his office, except for house calls for invalid patients.
Knox’s Virginia license was reinstated in late June. He has to enroll in some continuing education classes and is on probation.
I’m not making any allegations here. It’s just unclear to me how a doctor’s license can be suspended in one state and reinstated in another. What does this say about the uniformity of health professional expectations?
VADocWatch 
Goes to show theres a double standard in healthcare. Granted Dr Knox is now likely going to lose his license in VA due to his Federal Probation violation but the truth is any Nurse will tell ya. You lose your license in one state you wont be working anywherelse period. Just goes to show the pull MDs have still to lose their license one place and just set up shopelsewhere