Crime & Safety
Thousands of Pills Involved in Doctor Shopping Case
David Alvarez was prescribed more than 7,000 pills over the last two-and-a-half years.
A West Pasco man accused of doctor shopping was prescribed 7,228 pills over the past two-and-a-half years, according to Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies.
Deputies began investigating Donald Alvarez, 57, after a doctor complained about him. They ran his name through the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database and found numerous doctors had prescribed him pillls between January 2011 and June 2013. Several of those doctors work in Pasco.
The number of doctors totaled 37.
The deputy noticed that a pair of doctors prescribed Alvarez Oxycodone thgis past May, but the deputy could not find any thing saying Alvarez had told them tha he had been prescribed pills in the past.
The deputy also noted that several doctors had refused to prescribe medication to Alvarez.
Alvarez, of 121245 Pine Forest Drive, was charged with doctor shopping Aug. 12. He was later released from the Land O’ Lakes jail after posting $2,000 bond.
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