Medford foot doctor pleads guilty to federal charge for forging prescriptions

A podiatrist in the Medford area pleaded guilty in federal court on Tuesday for forging prescriptions that he used to “feed his personal addiction,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.

60-year-old Patrick Code pleaded guilty to one count of Obtaining Possession of a Controlled Substance through Misrepresentation, Fraud, Forgery, Deception and Subterfuge.

According to court documents, Code wrote prescriptions in the names of fake patients or unsuspecting relatives between June of 2016 and May of 2019, using them to get the opioid drug tramadol and the seditive zolpidem (Ambien) from pharmacies on behalf of the “patients.”

“Substance addiction is a public safety and health crisis for this community, and no one is immune from the ravages of addiction including professionals in health care. However, the defendant’s conduct in illegally obtaining and using powerful drugs while acting as a trusted health care provider is particularly alarming,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “This case was brought in order to protect the community from the ongoing risk to patients posed by the defendant’s actions.”

Code faces a maximum sentence of four years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 3 in federal court.