Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Health Care:

Medical board revokes North Las Vegas doctor’s license

The Nevada Board of Medical Examiners has revoked the license of a North Las Vegas physician who prescribed controlled substances for nearly a year without federal approval.

Dr. Larry Yee, who was first granted the right to practice in Nevada in 1982, was also cited for failing to see a psychiatrist as previously ordered by the board.

The state board initially filed a complaint against Yee in September 2011 because he was displaying “increasingly erratic and inappropriate behavior as witnessed by patients and staff.” According to that complaint, Yee had agreed in 2008 to take periodic psychiatric examinations, the results of which would be forwarded to the board. The 2011 complaint also said Yee attempted to obtain controlled substances for himself through staff and patients.

A settlement was reached in December 2011 to suspend his license and place him on probation. He was also ordered to see a psychiatrist twice a month.

Yee, according to the decision of the board, voluntarily surrendered his permit to prescribe controlled substances to the federal Drug Enforcement Agency at the time of the 2011 complaint but continued to prescribe the drugs until August 2012.

The board issued a subsequent complaint in September 2012 for prescribing controlled substances without federal authority and held a hearing to give Yee a chance to challenge the charges, but he never showed up.

The board said there has been a "willful failure" to comply with the settlement terms, citing Yee's failure to see a psychiatrist since September 2012.

The board, in the decision posted on its website Tuesday, said Yee's behavior "brings the medical profession into disrepute."

In addition to the revocation of his license, Yee was ordered to pay $5,023 to cover the cost of the board's investigation.

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