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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The state Department of Health is investigating a doctor accused of ordering potentially fatal doses of the powerful painkiller fentanyl for 27 gravely ill patients who died at an Ohio hospital system.
The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Health Department is investigating Dr. William Husel, a former Columbus-based Mount Carmel Health System physician, on behalf of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Franklin County Prosecutor's Office and Columbus police also are investigating the Husel, who served as an intensive care physician for Mount Carmel.
The hospital system has placed six pharmacists and 14 nurses on administrative leave but hasn't explained the delay in firing Husel on Dec. 5 after being told about his prescribing practices more than a month earlier.
Husel's attorneys haven't commented about the accusations.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
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