A Florida doctor’s license was revoked. He’s still practicing and can prescribe drugs
A Melbourne doctor whose license the state revoked in December over a cornucopia of pain prescriptions — and for asking a patient for a $35,000 “loan” — is back practicing again. And, he can prescribe controlled substances.
Records say Dr. Thomas Velleff, who practiced in Oakland Park at times from 2008 through 2011, appealed his revocation on three discipline cases to the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal in January. A Florida Department of Health spokesman said that the court granted a stay of the Florida Board of Medicine’s decision, so Velleff’s license “will return to the status prior to revocation.”
For Velleff, that means “clear/active” status and able to prescribe controlled substances “for the treatment of non-malignant pain.”
The Florida Board of Medicine’s final order on his revocation noted that, at the final hearing, Velleff “was not present and was not represented by counsel. The facts are not in dispute.”
That final order has been removed from Velleff’s Discipline/Administrative Actions page of the Florida Department of Health website.
Finding Velleff
To find any sign that Velleff’s license was revoked, you’d have to navigate an internet maze on the Florida Department of Health license website: Go to his license information page (License No. ME42998); click on “Practitioner Profile;” click on “Proceedings & Actions;” click on “view discipline narratives;” and click on any of the bottom three “Discipline Narratives.”
Each of the three contains a synopsis of the discipline cases involved in the revocation. Each synopsis opens with “Allegations of committing medical malpractice by falling below the minimum standard of care in his treatment of the patient, failure to keep legible medical records that justify the course of treatment” of the patient or patients.
Each has under final disciplinary action, “Pursuant to the Final Order the following penalties were imposed: License to practice medicine in the State of Florida is revoked.”
Following those same opening two sentences, each synopsis gets a little more specific:
▪ 2017-12689: “...and exercising influence on the patient in such a manner as to exploit the patient for financial gain.”
This is the 65-year-old patient described as an “obese...cigarette-smoker” with a history of substance abuse. The administrative complaint says Velleff prescribed him increasing amounts of oxycodone, then threw in a Valium prescription on top of that. Velleff eventually asked the patient for a $35,000 loan.
“Patient S.C. felt obligated to provide the loan to [Velleff],” the administrative complaint said.
▪ 2012-08782: “...prescribing a legend drug which was a controlled substance other than in the course of his professional practice, and failing to develop a written individualized treatment plan stating the objectives for treatment.”
This administrative complaint involved patient “M.F.” who, the complaint said, would tell Velleff her drugs ran out, had been lost or stolen and kept testing positive for drugs Velleff wasn’t prescribing. Still, Velleff prescribed Dialudid, Valium, ibuprofen and phentermine, a weight-loss drug. The complaint alleges this went on from November 2009 through November 2013.
▪ 2010-17708: “...inappropriately prescribing controlled substances for multiple patients, and engaging in a pattern of practice when prescribing medicinal drugs or controlled substances which demonstrates a lack of reasonable skill or safety to patients.”
This complaint concerned five patients seen at the Nu Me! pain management clinics in Oakland Park and Palm City that Velleff owned and operated. The complaint says he often didn’t bother examining these patients, diagnosing them or developing a monitoring program for these patients.
This story was originally published April 26, 2021 at 2:33 PM with the headline "A Florida doctor’s license was revoked. He’s still practicing and can prescribe drugs."
