DES MOINES – A doctor practicing in Mason City is working through an Iowa Board of Medicine charge of improper pain management, state documents show.
Janice A. Kirsch, M.D., a 56-year-old Iowa-licensed physician who practices family medicine in Mason City, Iowa, had an amended order issued by the Iowa Board of Medicine on August 2, 2019.
On February 15, 2018, Dr. Kirsch entered into a combined Statement of Charges and Settlement Agreement with the Board. The Board charged Dr. Kirsch with improper pain management. The Board alleged that Dr. Kirsch violated the laws and rules governing the practice of medicine in Iowa when she failed to provide appropriate pain management to multiple patients in Mason City, Iowa, between 2010 and 2017. Under the terms of the February 15, 2018, combined Statement of Charges and Settlement Agreement, the Board prohibited Dr. Kirsch from prescribing, administering or dispensing controlled substances for the treatment of *chronic* pain under her Iowa medical license. This prohibition did not prohibit Dr. Kirsch from prescribing, administering or dispensing controlled substances for the treatment of *acute* pain. The board gave Kirsch a warning, 3 years of probation, a $5,000 civil penalty and she had to complete a records-keeping course.
On June 24, 2019, Dr. Kirsch requested that she be permitted to provide refill prescriptions of Tramadol for patients currently taking Tramadol and be allowed to prescribe controlled substances to patients in nursing homes. Under the terms of the August 2, 2019, Amended Order, the Board permitted Dr. Kirsch to prescribe controlled substances to patients in residential hospice and nursing home settings and refill prescriptions of Tramadol for patients who currently have a prescription for Tramadol.