U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais got a slap on the wrist for a sexual relationship with two patients compared to the punishment recently handed down against a Murfreesboro doctor who had a fling with only one patient.
The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners revoked the license of Dr. Brad Blankenship and fined him $5,000 after he voluntarily stopped practicing medicine, submitted to behavioral evaluation for physicians and then underwent an inpatient treatment program for people in professional occupations.
That punishment compares to a $500 fine and a reprimand for the congressman.
The revocation of the Murfreesboro doctor’s license occurred two years after DesJarlais’s reprimand.
Neither the The Tennessee Board of Medical Examiners nor the office of DesJarlais responded to inquiries made by The Tennessean about the disparity in disciplinary actions.
Blankenship prescribed controlled substances to the woman, records show. DesJarlais also prescribed controlled substances to women while having affairs with them, according to documents.
Divorce records in the case between DesJarlais and his first wife includes testimony that DesJarlais pressured a patient (continue reading)