Former UPMC doctor accused of prescribing controlled substances to husband and friends
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A former UPMC doctor is facing charges, accused of prescribing controlled substances to friends and family before they were ever established patients.
According to investigators, Katie McClelland worked at Gordon Gold and Associates in Cranberry from 2015 to 2021. Police say she prescribed "highly-addictive drugs" to at least four men over an eight-year period.
In 2022, investigators appeared before a grand jury, testifying against McClelland. Paperwork says their investigation revealed McClelland rarely wrote controlled substance prescriptions for her regular patients but instead issued them to former boyfriends and eventually her husband.
Investigators say none of the men were established as patients at her office when the scripts were first written and says one of them had been given scripts for over two years before becoming a patient and claims she never once requested his past medical records.
Another man who police say was her husband died in 2022 of a drug overdose just over a year after meeting McClelland. Paperwork says he had been in recovery and McClelland was aware of his struggles with addiction when they met, yet one month into the relationship, she began writing him scripts totaling over 35 prescriptions in the span of five months.
According to paperwork, her husband died one week after McClelland checked him out of rehab to celebrate her birthday with her.
Fayette County Drug and Alcohol says education on substance use disorder in the medical community is limited.
"There's just so limited education on, you know, understanding the interactions of drugs and what can happen when someone is dependent on that drug. And again, they think that, 'it's okay, I know better,' and they don't," said Brian Reese, the assistant director of Fayette County Drug and Alcohol.
He says doctors should always ask their patients about their medical history and show compassion and resources to those in need.
"They need to ask these questions, you know, 'When was the last time you had a drink? When was the last time you had a drug?' You know, even marijuana, you know, we tend to minimize this, but we should look into it," Reese said.
McClelland was asked to resign from Gordon Gold and Associates in 2021. KDKA-TV reached out to UPMC for comment but didn't hear back by airtime.
McClelland's attorney sent a statement saying, "Charging documents are only allegations, not established facts or evidence. This case is in the early phases of the judicial process, and we look forward to presenting our client's side of the story at the appropriate time."
McClelland is currently out on bail.