Ohio pain clinic doctor to plead guilty

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Ohio doctor charged with illegal drug distribution plans to plead guilty to at least one charge in his case.

A federal indictment against John Dahlsten alleges he was one of six doctors at a clinic who wrote illegal painkiller prescriptions.

The April indictment alleged that dozens of customers a week would travel hundreds of miles to visit the clinics in southern and central Ohio and pay $200 per visit for painkillers.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Barrett today scheduled a hearing next month where Dahlsten’s attorney, Merlyn Shiverdecker, says his client will enter a guilty plea.

The indictment says prescriptions were written without meaningful physical exams and contributed to the deaths of at least two patients.