KENNEBUNKPORT – A longtime Kennebunkport physician has been placed on probation by the Maine Board of Licensure in Medicine following a 2018 complaint of over-prescribing medication to a young man struggling with addiction and another complaint involving his prescription practices.

Dr. Calvin Fuhrmann must enroll in a clinical competence assessment within 30 days, according to a consent agreement he entered into with the licensing board and the Maine Attorney General’s Office on Sept. 9.

The probationary period is open-ended.  The licensing board will review  recommendation from the clinical competence assessment  and take action as it deems necessary, according to the consent agreement.

Fuhrmann had applied for renewal of his license to practice medicine in Maine in January. The Kennebunkport physician has been licensed in Maine since 1998 and specializes in internal medicine and pulmonary diseases, according to the consent document.

The action was taken following the complaint from a mother who alleged over-prescribing of medications to her son, whom the licensing board said struggles with addiction.

Fuhrmann responded to the complaint, saying he believed the patient should be referred to an in-patient long-term recovery program, and that he didn’t believe he was a candidate for “weaning.”

“The (licensing) Board obtained an independent outside review which identified several violations in the standards of care and identified issues with clinical judgment, medical decision-making, medical knowledge, patient care, professionalism, and record keeping,” the consent document states, in part.

A second complaint against Fuhrmann was issued by the board after another physician reported in May that a patient of Fuhrmann’s was admitted to hospital for an “altered mental state” after he was found driving erratically and was confused, according to the licensing board.

The consent agreement noted that the driver had a significant medical history, including end-stage renal disease and substance abuse of opioids, cocaine and benzodiazepines. According to the consent agreement, Fuhrmann had prescribed two opioids totaling the equivalent of 302 milligrams of morphine a day, which was described as high dose, along with a benzodiazepine, and a short-acting stimulant.

Additionally, the  second complaint referred to a review of the records of 12  other patients, which according to the consent agreement “revealed issues with Dr. Fuhrmann’s controlled substances prescribing practices, medical decision-making and medical record keeping.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 780-9016 or twells@journaltribune.com.

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