Dr. David Houlihan License Suspended As VA Malpractice Deadline Approaches

Dr. David Houlihan

Benjamin KrauseA finding from the State of Wisconsin that resulted in the license suspension of Dr. David Houlihan that may provide ammo to veterans harmed by his prescriptive practices.

The only catch is that veterans file an FTCA claim with VA within two years of having knowledge of Dr. Houlihan’s wrongdoing causing their injury. Veterans last treated by Dr. Houlihan before he was ousted last January 2015 only have 10 months to pull it together.

MEDICAL BOARD ON DR. DAVID HOULIHAN

A recent decision from the State of Wisconsin Medical Board indicated at least 22 patients were harmed by Houlihan from 2005 to 2014. Based on my experience evaluating malpractice within VA, it is likely than many more veterans were harmed right up until he left the agency.

RELATED: Dr. Houlihan Fired By Tomah VA

Records from state regulators show Dr. Houlihan created an “unacceptable risk” for patients when he excessively prescribed narcotic painkillers. The practice earned him the nickname “Candy Man” and was linked to the death of at least one veteran who died of a drug overdose from Suboxone.

According to the Board, Houlihan acted outside the scope of his psychiatric practice when the prescribed opioids in “dosages greatly exceeding the recommended daily amount” for up to 12 years. This practice created “an unacceptable risk” of harm to patients and the public:

“Respondent, as an outpatient-clinic acted in many instances as the sole health care provider for patients presenting with complaints of chronic pain. Respondent prescribed various combinations of controlled substances, in dosages greatly exceeding the recommended daily amount, for periods extending 12 years, and to patients who had no primary healthcare provider. Respondent did not refer these patients to primary care, pain management, or other providers, nor did he consult with any specialists in treating patients with chronic pain complaints.”

The findings from the Board substantiated claims first made by Aaron Glantz in January 2015 published by the Center for Investigative Reporting. Those claims indicated veterans called Tomah VA “Candy Land” due to the easy way they could get narcotic treatments.

HOULIHAN CLAIMS HE PROVIDED “GREAT CARE”

Despite the conclusion, Dr. Houlihan maintains his apparently delusional claim that the actual facts would show that he provided “great care for our veterans.” What about the harmed or dead veterans, doc?

Veterans seeking help to file a claim against Dr. Houlihan should seek help from an attorney if they were harmed through his practices. Contact an attorney in your area. You can also contact me below. I would love to hear more about Dr. Houlihan’s prescriptive practices or other problems at Tomah VA.

EMAIL: Click To Send Note To Ben Krause

So what do you think was really going on at Tomah VA?

One theory is that Dr. Houlihan was experimenting on veterans to create a cocktail of opioids to help veterans with PTSD become zombified. Whether intentional or not, many veterans certainly indicated they were zombified by the cocktails Houlihan prescribed.

Source: https://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/medical-board-candy-man-prescriptions-created-unacceptable-risk/article_b215416f-56c0-51c1-8364-ba04c1ed05e3.html

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88 Comments

  1. Even as a child I always hatted playing CATCH UP. Or just standing around with one thump up may ass, the other in my mouth waiting for some one to tell me to switch. JUNG.

  2. David,

    Anticipation can cause positive feelings or Negative feelings. I do have a post about you that I am working on and you should have Negative feelings of anticipation about that post.

    While it contains information about your ongoing personal drug problem, new legal issues about to come up unexpectedly, your current legal issues, and some of those deep dark secrets about your past that Patrick has been helping you to hide from the publics’ eye.

    Patrick may not be of much help in the future since he is going to find himself a little busy with his own problems.

    Also Just to be a nice guy I think I should warn you that the Domestic Abuse TRO, with firearm restrictions, you filed against your ex-wife Erin ran out January 28, 2016. You might want to look into that.

    With what is about to happen in your life and the expected Allostatic Overload you will be feeling you really should get a work up done so you can further your research in Hyperreninemic Hypoaldosteronism. With the information already out about you all eyes in your profession are watching and waiting for the final outcome.

    Oh and just so you know I will be putting that post right here on this blog when I am ready. A day? Two days? A Week? Not sure yet but please keep that Anticipation building.

    1. Hey brother, I agree with James. “Cut (the asswipe) no slack!”
      Question: about his “ongoing personal drug problem”! Are you sure? Because in the video, he sure did look “HIGH”!

      1. Hey Crazy Elf,

        Yes I am certain and will not be cutting him any slack. But time is important concerning Dr. Houlihan right now. I would not want to interfere with Law Enforcements new investigation and probable new investigations at the VA regarding Dr. Houlihans personal files.

        Seymore

  3. To All;
    Here’s some more interesting details coming out on the web, 19 Mar. 2016;

    From: “The Common Sense Show” by Dave Hodges.
    1.) “Breaking: Trump Home Evacuated After THIS Threat! FBI & Fire Department Responds”
    March 18, 2016 @ 04:08 pm

    Not only was Mr. Trump’s son, Eric, and daughter-in-law threatened.
    Mr. Trump’s sister, a Federal Judge, was also threatened.

    2.) “What Can Americans Do When Their Vote No Longer Counts?”
    March 18, 2016 @ 06:03 am

    ____________________________

    From CNN 19 March 2016

    “Protestors Block road outside Trump Arizona event, March in NYC”
    by; Eugene Scott, CNN

    This one has lots of videos.

  4. Another Death of a civilian and the total destruction of a Disabled Veterans Life.

    Angela Colby Death Investigation Tomah VA Scandal David Houlihan

    “https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1686997-angela-colby-death-investigation-tomah-va.html”

    Contributed by: Aaron Glantz, Center for Investigative Reporting

  5. Think McDonald, Gibson, Reynolds, Hickey, etc, etc, ever really cared about 22 vets a day killing themselves? They feel immune from any repercussions.

    They even feel secure to ignore congressmen on the veterans affairs committee. After Lee Zeldin’s speech the other night in the House suggesting a 200k per county program (successful and no room to siphon off graft) to stop veteran suicides they are not playing nice with him either. Gibson just wants his 178 BILLION with no lip from the elected. Let’s pray that the committee has the strength to cold turkey the VA from it’s money fix. All the money in the world will not fix incompetent and evil.

    Look up Lee Zeldin’s speech on Youtube or I have it on my Twitter feed. (at) CloseTheVA . There is both a short version and a long version. Awesome speech.

    1. @Robin Mitchell and all.
      The article, with accompanying Utube video, is titled;

      “Rep. Zeldin Makes Impassioned Plea on House Floor on Behalf of Veterans with PTSD”
      March 15, 2016

      Something interesting about this.
      1.) Look at all the empty seats in the House Chamber!
      2.) He discusses for the House “…to do something outside the box!”
      He spoke about the many veterans organizations out there helping vets.
      Here’s something y’all may have forgotten. A few years ago, the VFW took some “Wheelchair Bound Veterans” to a ‘pay lake’! They were in a VA nursing home.
      They had a great time! Many hadn’t seen anything like this in years. The vets who were accompanying them would “cast the line”. Then would help the vet “reel in the fish”, IF they caught one.
      These vets had smiles from ear to ear. Think about that!
      Well, the VA didn’t find it amusing that these vets were having fun. The VA stated because they could fish, they could hold a job. The took their disability compensations away. Then tried to kick them out of the veterans home!
      The VFW, along with millions of veterans, spoke up!
      The VA capitulated and said “Sorry”! Their compensations were restored!
      This “story” appeared in the VFW Magazine!

      There’s more in the video and article. It’s a must read and watch!
      Thank You
      Robin Mitchell for sharing this!

  6. Also for those who read my post, & want to know why I used my name instead of a screen name, like many others…It is because I hope Houlihan reads it, along with other key people & am ok with people knowing my story. However unflattering it is for me or hard to share if it helps make sure he can’t hurt anyone else ever again, I will deal with anything else that comes from it.

    1. Kyleen,

      I hope that you are not still under VA care. I believe the information that you have provided is true but also know that the VA is a very vindictive organization.

    2. Regarding Dr. Houlihan’s licensing and certifications.

      Dr. Houlihan’s certification with the American Board of Psychiatry was recertified with qualifications in psychosomatic medication on February 1, 2016.

      A search of the Pennsylvania medical license check system shows that Although his Pennsylvania medical license is inactive he has an active business relationship with the University Health Center. The active license connected to the University Health Center number is HS0D0288L.

      Addistionally Dr. Houlihan’s Psychiatry Certificate No. 41733 which was also recertified on 02/01/2016.

      Given the fact that the only action taken against Dr. Houlihan to date is to suspend his clinical privileges at Tomah It seems clear that Dr. Houlihan is still able to prescribe medications to Veterans through the VA Healthcare system and more likely than not has been this entire time.

      ]

      1. The line “Given the fact that the only action taken against Dr. Houlihan to date is to suspend his clinical privileges at Tomah”

        Should read “Given the fact that the only actions taken by the VA against Dr. Houlihan to date is to suspend his clinical privileges at Tomah.

        I needed to clarify that after the excellent work that has been done in suspending his license in the state of Wisconsin.

    3. You should write up what happened to you and provide copies to Johnson and Baldwin’s office, and to the State medical licensing board. Houlihans license is suspended, but there are many others working there that should also have their license pulled.

    4. If you are looking for an attorney/firm to help you navigate through filing your claim against Dr. Houlihan, I have a great attorney/firm. If you want that information you can reach me thru FB or email. My email is [email protected].

  7. Dr Houlihan was my doctor for 7 years. The last atleast 5 of those I look back on & realize I was his guinea pig, case study, even joke.
    I foolishly trused everything he said. He had a very charismatic charming way of making you believe the BS he was telling you & made you feel like you were his first priority, especially if you were a woman in my opinion. Dr. Houlihan completely destroyed my life for a long time doing un repairable damage to my mind, body, & family/friend relationships. There were times, that ill touch on further along that other VA employees voiced their concern for me about what he was doing & prescribing to me, & then they were gone, transfered to different jobs at that same VA or fired. He made me believe that was his way of protecting me from uncaring, professionals not equipped to properly help me. There was a Pharmacist his name was Ron, i hope this reaches. He refused to fill my excessively high dose of opiods on a friday, because 1 it was not due till following monday & 2 it was like i said excessive. I feel Ron & I both acted that day in a direct reflection of Houlihan’s games. I called Dr. Houlihan upset about Ron’s intial reaction to my actions after being told he was not authorizing the complete fill & i would have to come back Monday with another script. Dr. Houlihan told me he would be right over to the pharmacy. While he was on the way Ron approached me in the hallway & explained his reason for his reaction & asked if this amount of pain medicine was really helping with the pain, & voiced his concern for me & my safety. I was rude to him, thinking he was judging me as Houlihan had brain washed me to think instead of reaching out to me like he really was. When Dave got to us in the hallway he scolded him very harshly in front of me & told him to get in there & fill the script he wrote. Ron was the pharmacy “boss” at that time. With in a couple weeks he was gone & Houlihan told me himself he had to get rid of him, that he couldn’t have that going on. Later he told me Ron was suing him or appealing his job loss, i did nothing to help Ron as at the time i didnt know i was being used by my doctor. One of many things i carry much guilt about. Dr. Houlihan preformed treatments on me for things that were not FDA approved for the conditions he himself diagnosed me with. When i approached another doctor at VA about these treatments she was clearly scared to answer my questions, & gave me incomplate answers. Yet i foolishly still believed he had my best interest in mind. I take responsibility now for what i did wrong, tried to applogize where i have been able & still do try where I am able. Where is his applogy to those of us still trying to put the peices back together of our bodies, minds & lives he ruined? Where is his applogy to the man’s family who died under his care? Because i was at the VA so much & closer than a patient should be to their doctor i know he is responsible, he says the actual facts arent available to the public, & he can’t because of patient doctor confidentiality… bullshit He shared things with me abput other patients, employees, his personal life etc on a regular basis. I would have no way of knowing sucj information if he hadn’t. The fact is, he was supposed to help that man & his arrogance & improper use of prescriptions killed that man! & I’m quite certain he is not the only one! My treatment by him was part of the of the investigation by the Adj. General Dr. Houlihan references that looked at his care over couple/few years & did find his care dangerous, but did nothing to warn us patients at the time. It was like he was gulf buddies with guy or something & in my opion he is just as sick as Houlihan. the resignation of the Adj. General that allowed these findings go undisciplined was not enough either. The I’ll call them “powers that be” could have stopped him then & did nothing! When I look back at what he turned me into it’s impossible to figure out what was real, what was his “experimenting” , and just plain BS. He refused to allow my family to be part of my care because my mother questioned his reason for having me on an excessive amounts of prescriptions early on in my treatment with him. He told her he was the one with the medical degree. I at the time agreed, but now know, great care would never include forcing your loving caring family out of it! I do have chronic pain, & other issues, but the damage all his according to him “great care” has done will never allow me to know what my life could have been with out his criminal behavior, but has also has severely limited my future potential in many ways! Also as reports say he did not require I see a primary care doctor. I went to him for everything, he even would prescribe me antibiotics with no tests being done for things such as bladder infections. When I chose to go off the excessive amounts of opiods/narcotics he was prescribing because even in doses never seen at that VA before they were not helping with the pain & destroying every other aspect of my life I made it very clear to him I did not want to be on anything like that again. He agreed that a different course could be taken, yet mere days after starting withdrawal from OxyCodone, while impatient he lied to me to telling me a drug he wanted me on was not addictive or narcotic/opiods & talked me into taking. This was in my opinion not because I couldn’t handle the withdrawal, I was at the VA for but because he wanted to start a painful treatment that my body couldn’t handle so soon after stopping the mounds of narcotic intake he had me on. My mother was there almost every day from early am till late evening while I chose to withdraw without assistance of more opiods. I wanted to be rid of that toxic crap & she was so proud. Not only did he lie to me but her when put me on that next crap for his “amusement” in my opinion. When i was able to do the research about what it was & questioned why he put me on it, why I needed this new treatment when I read that it not only was not FDA approved for condition he claimed I had but could make things severely worse I was told if I didn’t do the treatment I should be discharged. I was clearly not ready for discharge! My parents knowing this, did not know what to do and begged me to do the treatment as they figured it couldnt hurt & knew i could not come home to continue raising my child as a single parent the way i was. Another doctor intervened, kindly offered to take over my care & help me, I declined again foolishly because why would my doctor I had been seeing for over 5 years not know me the best & do what he knew was the best for me? Dr. Houlihan then forced me to take a drug called Ketamine which is most used by vetinarians claiming it would make his “life changing” treatment work better. It actually made me lose ability to control my body several times & he still wanted me stay on it. I could go on for days. My VA record is just short of 4,000 pages. I was by no means completely innocent in everything done during my course as his patient. How can someone who is being used, drugged up to the point they don’t know who they even are be totally responsible or even accountable for most their actions? I do have chronic pain from an njury that can not be fixed after many failed attempts even surgery, I do have other psychiatric issues, but now I have a whole new list of issues because of his malpractice. Including my ability to trust, which he totally destroyed. Thankfully the psychiatrist I see now is an actual caring “good doctor” & has the patience of a Saint in dealing with my trust issues along with the the rest. I highly encourage all veterans affected by Dr. Houlihan’s, in my opinion, criminal treatment to get a lawyer. It is not enough that his license be suspended, especially considering he maintains he is a “good doctor”. Those of us who have been forever changed by him, & the families of those not here because of him need more than to know he just can’t hurt anyone else in WI right now. If you would like any information from me I have plenty & am happy to share & help in anyway I can!

    1. Thank you for adding much more detail ran what has been presented Kyleen. I believe you need to continue telling your story as much as possible, in comments here and to the media, because what has been portrayed has been suggestive of veterans being drug-seeking, as opposed to a manipulative Bastard like Houlihan gaining their trust and doing little more than experimentation on vets.
      It reminds me of that Nurse Schaller writing a letter to the LaCrosse Tribune trying to say Ryan Honl is not a hero for blowing the whistle, and is only harming vets by publicizing how bad Tomah is. You and Honl ARE heroes for publicizing this because it exposes all of these so-called ethical medical providers who watched what happened, and did nothing to stop it.
      EVERYONE who watched and did nothing bears responsibility. You take on much more responsibility than you should, because as a patient, you trusted them to do their jobs, and nurses like Schaller looked the other way.

      Disgusting bastards!

      1. I was labeled, “drug seeking” by the VA & do not deny that after he had me on tons of it I was. That is what addiction does to a person. Before him I did not have that label any where else or an issue with opiods. Saying it’s veterans fault because there were, drug seekers is ridiculous! If he hadn’t prescribed the drugs in excessive amounts none of this would be even said.

  8. Another question where are those Trolls from Tomah that infect the pages on this website every time there is an article about their facility?

    1. @Melvin
      Evidently they, the “Tomah Trolls”, know better this time!
      I believe we’re better informed over the “Candy Man”. Plus, all the “cover-ups”, and corruption, VA did FOR him!

      ____________________________

      Last night on “World News”, it’s came out someone, or many someones, “Threatened Mr. Trump’s children” if he “didn’t drop out of the Presidential Race!”
      Someone, or a group, sent a “letter filled with an unknown powder to his son’s house!” His daughter-in-law opened it. She then, I believe, called law enforcement first. Turned out, thank GOD, the powder was harmless!
      There was also a letter in it threatening the family!

      I don’t know about y’all, if I were as rich as the Trump family, there wouldn’t be a place on this earth they could hide.

      ____________________________

      Today, Saturday, 19 Mar., there’s going to be a “march to and protest outside Trump Tower in New York City!” They want Mr. Trump out of the race!
      It’s supposed to include; “Black Lives Matters”, “Movingon dot org”, (a Soros backed organization), and other “Radical Groups!”
      There was a video, by one of the leaders of BLM, saying; “This isn’t your grandparents civil rights movement!” He actually calles for violence!
      He “deleated the video”, only not quick enough! It can be found on many websites, including “InfoWars dot com”!

      Also, on that news report, the group known as “Anonymous” has threatened to “hack” all of the personal information of Mr. Trump.
      According to other sources on the internet. The real “Anonymous” has said it wasn’t them!

      ____________________________

      The next protest is supposed to take place on 2nd of April to, I believe, the 18th of April. There’s supposed to be “Thousands upon Thousands” of the same groups plus more going to start at the “Liberty Bell in Philly and end in Washington D.C.!” A 120 mile march!
      They want all of Washington’s elite to stop the corruption and do the jobs they were elected for! They want their “Democratic Country” back! They want the banks out of politics. The want “Special Interest Groups” out of politics! Etc. Etc. Etc!
      (Sounds familiar doesn’t it! Just like what the “front runner” of the GOP wants!)
      They have also said, they “…will stay until their demands are met!” Plus, they don’t care if “…thousands are arrested!”
      How’s that for will power?!

      ____________________________

      So, my brother and sister veterans, be careful out there!

      1. Melvin,

        I am from New York and was in the building trade for years. You can’t do business in commercial construction without dealing with some tough families and union thugs.
        I am sure Trump can make a phone call and a manhunt is on. And, many of those interesting types are not only ex-military but ex-Special Forces. It always surprised me who I ran into in that business. The fact that Trump was so successful for decades shows he can work with just about every off the wall personality. Types that if you didn’t use union labor to install windows would take them out the next night for you.
        And, yes you are correct about the VA as they are temper tantrum little boys when you stand up to them. So, I asked some men that used to track the finances of drug dealers overseas to track some of the top’s finances. Some interesting stuff has come out.
        A 115 year old man with the same name as a top VA official going around buying VA mortgage repo’s at pennies on the dollar. Must be either a spry little guy or a real life vampire.
        One VARO director that has a regular monthly illegal income stream from veterans. An employee that hired a felon for her expensive horse hobby.
        One that was notified of National Security breaches in the Top Secret level and has done nothing. That was Gibson. Still waiting for him to contact the right people and notify them that Special Ops troops by the many DRO transcripts contain viable TS info America’s enemies would love to get. Since the VA has failed every security review for iirc 16 years they may have it already.

    2. Found one named James. Trying to mess up the pages with his little one line comments so people have to work to follow a post.

  9. Some more deaths associated with the Serial Killer whose name is Dr. David Houlihan, a.k.a. (The Candy Man).

    “The death of baby Ada Mae and the tragic effects of addicted veterans”

    “https://www.revealnews.org/article/the-death-of-baby-ada-mae-and-the-tragic-effects-of-addicted-veterans/”

    “Congressional hearing reveals 4 more deaths at Tomah, Wisconsin, VA”

    “The deaths, revealed in a rare congressional field hearing today in the small Wisconsin town, bring to 33 the number of unexpected deaths The Center for Investigative Reporting has found occurred during Houlihan’s decade at the helm. The medical center became known as “Candy Land” for the ease with which narcotic painkillers were prescribed.”
    “https://www.revealnews.org/article/congressional-hearing-reveals-4-more-deaths-at-tomah-wisconsin-va/”

    1. 33 the number of unexpected deaths The Center for Investigative Reporting has found occurred during Houlihan’s decade at the helm.

      How many others are they hiding?

  10. More on Dr. David J. Houlihan:

    Another death engineered by the Candy Man

    USA Today April 12th, 2015

    “For one whistleblower, getting fired was too much”
    “https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/04/12/va-whistleblower-killed-himself-after-dismissal/25587367/”

  11. More on Dr. David J. Houlihan and his covering up unreported unexpected deaths while he was Chief of Staff at Tomah.

    “New audio: Union official said Wisconsin lawmakers told of Tomah VA deaths in 2008”

    can be found at: “https://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/366452211.html”

    A two minute audio can be accessed through a link on the page the audio recorded on 7-31-2009 “In the two-minute audio, Lin Ellinghuysen — president of the local chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees,” …”talked to a Juneau County sheriff’s detective about the problems at the facility on July 31, 2009.”.

    Ellinghuysen went to the Juneau because nothing was being done about unreported and unexpected deaths at Tomah because Dr. David J. Houlihan in his position as Chief of Staff was preventing them from being reported. Ellinghysen had been the Patient Safety Nurse at the time of the deaths. But had been removed from the position.

    You really need to hear this: “https://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/366452211.html”

    ]

  12. Using veterans as human guinea pigs and at the same time using the cheapest therapeutic means in order to treat veterans by zombifying them with pills. Well, it’s part of the established norm at VA, isn’t it? By keeping veterans doped up and eventually turning them into zombies makes us easier to handle when we become so zombified that we don’t know what’s going on around us and it becomes easier for them to keep low balling us on our claims and benefits. I went there and done that with them. I’ll never do it again!

  13. 3 things.
    1. A psychiatrist prescribing pain meds for chronic pain should have been a red flag to any other medical provider seeing the veterans records.
    2. Read this knowing everything that happened, and that the IG initially cleared Houlihan. If the evidence supported manslaughter charges for Houlihan, the IG should be charged as an accessory.
    3. Any FTCA claim against Houlihan should not be restricted just because he may not have done something harsh enough to kill someone in 12 years. If records show he harmed someone, the claim should be allowed.

    Just disgraceful. He should be in prison.

    1. @91veteran-

      A ~~Resounding~~ A-MEN!!

      This type of egregious ‘off-label’ Pharmaceutical Lobotomizers he concocted should have him professionally barred from license, as in revoked, by the American Psychological Association (APA) “””https://www.apa.org/””” Or would Dr. Houlihan be considered a *light* Dr. Kevorkian type of case to the Professional Community?

      I will repeat what many others have asked; Is the VA OIG actually “colorblind” to glaringly Red Flags as in a Psychiatrist RX’ing Opiates?
      Does it take a meth lab to be found in a VA Dr.’s office closet before it REALY matters?

      IF convictions stick, then there should be a unanimous declaration of NO Confidence in the VA OIG and flush and start over.
      How about placing only Disabled Veterans as entire VA OIG? 🙂

      1. *correction* “REALLY”…am not the village idiot, just bad neuropathy and a dose of dyslexia. 🙂 That means I could easily be a VA Brain Surgeon. 🙂

      2. I forgot to mention, I think if this was a thorough investigation, his research should be checked thoroughly, because I think he was more into trying to profit from his nutty research than he was concerned over any treatment of veterans. If he has any co-authors on his research, they should be investigated as well to find out whether they knew what was going on.
        In addition, his research should be investigated to determine if any of it was sanctioned by the VA. If it was, who was overseeing it? Did he have the proper controls in place such as an approved Institutional Review Board agreement and signed consent forms from the veterans since he was conducting human research?

        Investigating some of that might, MIGHT prevent some future VA quack from using vets as lab rats, and tighten up on the VAs grab ass way of doing research.
        As for the IG, I believe that report was done under that is class Griffin who could find no wrong anywhere in the VA.
        But I like your idea of using disabled vets as investigators.

      3. Every single week the stuff coming out from the VA actually makes the pretty great older movie, “Jacob’s Ladder” make a LOT of sense finally. If any of you have seen that movie, just think about it, and yes, a good dose of the VA is in that movie as well as Vietnam War crap…so you have been warned in case this would be a potential trigger for PTSD. I am being serious here.

        What’s scary is that VA “research” finds itself actualized in the private health community and USA Psych Care is very reflective of this in particular. Going through some pharmaceutical hell right now in my private healthcare that’s all about Institutional Liability and just about throws concern about what works for a given patient out the window. Big Pharma is to medical care what Citizen’s United is to Fat Cat Billionaire Brothers named Koch.

    2. How bout if a shrink treats Vet w/ chemo cuz it’s good for his brain?

      Is that Red Flag too?

      1. A shrink treating any vet for anything other than mental health should be a red flag, particularly if unsupervised by other doctors with the expertise in the area of treatment.

      2. A shrink should be part of a Veteran’s Team of Specialists, but no, chemo should be handled only by an Oncologist and Neurologist and Primary Care Dr. A Team. Not some random shrink given magical powers o play Uncle Fester or Dr. Frankenstein at the VA on Veterans.

        Image now stained my brain of Uncle Fester with a light bulb in his mouth…VA Psych Care.

    3. @91Veteran
      I believe your misreading the OIG report wrong. They DID find him culpable!
      The “27 NEWS Exclusive Update” confirms it. The title is;

      “Digging deeper claims made by former Tomah VA Chief about his record don’t match report”

      This article came out late last night or today. Trust me. The “Candy Man” will definitely not get his job, whether with VA or civilian, back due to these news and OIG reports!

      1. Crazy elf, I’m going by memory, but I seem to remember the IG initially clearing Houlihan, and then the IG investigated again after it became public and faulting him for some reason.
        Houlihan claiming the IG cleared him came from the news report yesterday, and may have been him claiming the first iG report cleared him.

      2. @crazyelf-

        Just hope in the aftermath, Dr. Houlihan does not relocate to your neck of woods and open a chain of new “Pill Mills”, as I have read story after story of people traveling from all over this Northeastern half of USA for your neck of woods for that reason and apparently is still a problem, but perhaps Marco Rubio took care of that little problem? Nah…he has been running for President full-time, silly me. Your governor probably has not “fixed” that loophole either, has he?
        Hope I am wrong, but Dr. Houlihan seems to be a bit thick in the world of reality. It could happen! Hope not though!

        On another note: The Repubs have again pulled Mitt Romney out of their magic hat today. Mark my words: The Repubs that fear a Trump Presidency will not spare using activist groups such as “BLM” to try to bring Trump down and it could get ugly in NYC, just saying.

      3. @91veteran-

        This whole “Candyman” situation has waxed and waned so many times and ways, it’s indeed very hard for me to keep track of what came first. It’s like a salt water taffy machine stretched this every which way but right side up.
        Perhaps an outline of events in chronological order and a flow chart would help jog everyone’s memory because I certainly cannot keep it orderly at this point?!

      4. @namnibor & 91Veteran.
        Your both right. I feel like taffy being pulled all over the place.
        That asswipe better stay away from my neck of the woods. Our “A.G.”, Pam Bondy is real hot on “pill mills”! Anyone caught running one, gets real lengthy prison terms- trust me on that one!
        Or, maybe he would like to come on down here. It would be fun to turn his worthless ass in! Maybe I’ll invite the asswipe! LMAO.

  14. Several old press release from the Iowa Board of Medical Professionals on David John Houlihan.

    June 10th, 2002 Iowa Board of Medical Examiners Press Release

    David J. Houlihan, M.D., a 38 year-old psychiatrist formerly practicing in Dubuque, Iowa, was charged by the Board with engaging in unprofessional conduct when he violated appropriate professional physician/patient boundaries. Dr. Houlihan is charged with inappropriately hiring two patients to perform work for him, engaging in an inappropriate social relationship with a patient and inappropriate possession of patient medications at his home. A hearing in this matter is scheduled
    for July 17, 2002.

    April 9th, 2003 Iowa Board of Medical Examiners Press Release

    David J. Houlihan, M.D., a 39 year-old physician currently from Onalaska, Wisconsin, entered into a Settlement Agreement with the Board to resolve pending disciplinary charges. Dr. Houlihan was charged with engaging in unethical conduct or practice harmful or detrimental to the public when he violated appropriate professional physician/patient boundaries. Dr. Houlihan completed a comprehensive professional boundary evaluation. Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, Dr. Houlihan agreed to successfully complete an education program on physician-patient boundaries in the practice of psychiatry within 90 days.

  15. Don’t be settlers, Don’t take the narcotics, stick to tramadol,Ibuprofen, anti inflammatory”s. All the rest will just take years off life. If you need more than above, you should be getting surgery to relieve pain, not taking drugs to hide symptoms and pain, or delay surgery.

  16. Additional coverage of David Houlihan from by Gregg Neumann from Channel 27 WKOW news.

    “DIGGING DEEPER: Claims made by former Tomah VA chief about his record don’t match report”

    Gregg Neumann new article also provides a link to the VA IG report at:

    “https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-15-02131-471.pdf”

    His article is at : “https://www.wkow.com/story/31499012/2016/03/17/digging-deeper-claims-made-by-former-tomah-va-chief-about-his-record-dont-match-report”

  17. Five years ago a VA doctor tried to put me on methadone for back pain. Much cheaper than actually doing the surgery. Horrible meds. When I told her I wasn’t taking them anymore she said I had drug seeking behavior. For complaining I wanted it fixed over medicated for life.

    Best thing that has happened to my husband and I is he turned 60 and got Tricare along with Medicare.

    Right now vets are being cut off drugs but just wait..in a year or two the spigots will be open full bore again. Just let the VA bean counters figure out how much the portion of cutting them off affects their bonus money.

    Here is a great one…promoted on Twitter by J E Hutton…Director of the media relations dept.

    Google “How I hack the VA Healthcare System for a great experience”

    I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Tell a badly injured vet to do this: (from the article)
    That’s when I realized why I have a better experience than others. The VA is not the military; you can’t wait around until you are told to do something. You must advocate for yourself.
    You and I at some point will fall through the cracks. No matter how great an organization is (and I think the VA is pretty great), it will happen. That is reality, but it doesn’t have to negatively affect your experience”
    No not negatively at all, just throw that extra bottle of pills meant for the guy in line behind you away. Make sure TBI patients wives, moms, kids all know the system and how to fight for you. Warn them about the midnight Behavior Board Stalin would be proud of.
    FUBAR does not even stat to touch how F’d up this system is. Since claims take years anyway let’s start with a 30 day stand down AND lockdown.No employees in or our. Do it nationwide. FEMA trailers in Parking lots with guards. Cases of handcuffs
    Why is this doc not behind bars yet? Then again Dr Swango at the Northport VA murdered iirc 50 vets before they even caught onto him.

  18. OK, the way I’m reading this is, this asswipe is going to try to get his state license back.
    I really don’t see that happening anytime soon, or ever! The “evidence” clearly is against him!

    Something I could see happening, is the “State Medical Board” possibly getting together with the States Attorney General. Then possibly going after “The Candy Man” for some form of a “manslaughter” charge! Especially, on that U.S. Marine he killed!
    The reason I give for this is simple. It sometimes takes a long time to get the courts to file charges.
    In my opinion, if he keeps trying to say sh!t about the VA, how he was “fired due to political reasons”, the state (or the feds) just may press charges!
    (Something “Melvin” said before. Wasn’t he being “investigated” in another state, for doing something similar?)

    By the way, have y’all watched the “27 News Exclusive” video? Last night I watched it a few times. Did y’all notice, when the camera was “fixed” on him, he didn’t blink once!? Could he looked “stoned”? You know, “self medication” before hand!
    Also, after the “meeting”, in the hallway with the reporter, he was “shaking”. As though he was scared something else was going to happen!
    I wonder if he, his attorney and a few others met BEFORE or possibly after the meeting. With no “news media” present to discuss something?

    Weeeelllll, I wish him the best of NO LUCK in his future endeavors!

    1. Hey Elf,

      About your question, (Something “Melvin” said before. Wasn’t he being “investigated” in another state, for doing something similar?).

      He was investigated in Iowa and had his Medical license suspended there before being hired by the VA. He didn’t fight the suspension because he was hired by the VA and received a license to practice in the state of Wisconsin.

      During his time in Iowa there were a number of investigations concerning his medical License before ultimately he license was suspended. Also during the period of time he was being investigated in Iowa, Dr. Houlihan prescribe a patient a combination of drugs known as “California Rocket Fuel” and then prescribed Tramadol which caused the patient to go in to sever Serotonin Syndrome.

      Dr. Houlihan even had the balls to write and publish a paper on the patient. It is titled “Serotonin Syndrome resulting from coadministration of tramadol, venlafaxine and mirtazapine.”. It should be noted that his stated conclusion of the article states:

      “Conclusion It is vital that clinicians are aware of the potential for SS when psychotropic and nonpsychotropic agents are coadministered to certain patients, such as those with both depression and chronic pain.”.

      “https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14970364”

      Dr. Houlihan knew he was going to cause Jason’s death when he gave him the fatal dose of Suboxone while he was on Tramadol.

      A special word to any Veteran or any civilian if you have been prescribed Ultram (Tramadol) you need to check out the warnings available on the Web. Such as the warning posted on https://www.drugs.com/ultram.html, this is an extremely dangerous drug and should not be on the market.

      From Drugs.com:

      Important information

      You should not take Ultram if you have used alcohol, sedatives, tranquilizers, or narcotic medications within the past few hours.

      Ultram can slow or stop your breathing, especially when you start using this medicine or whenever your dose is changed. Never take Ultram in larger amounts, or for longer than prescribed. Do not crush or break an extended-release pill. Swallow it whole to avoid exposure to a potentially fatal dose.

      Tramadol: Top 9 Facts You Need To Consider

      Seizures (convulsions) have occurred in some people taking this medicine. Ultram may be more likely to cause a seizure if you have a history of seizures or head injury, a metabolic disorder, or if you are taking certain medicines such as antidepressants, muscle relaxers, narcotic, or medicine for nausea and vomiting

      Tramadol may be habit-forming, even at regular doses. Take this medicine exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Never share the medicine with another person. MISUSE OF NARCOTIC PAIN MEDICATION CAN CAUSE ADDICTION, OVERDOSE, OR DEATH, especially in a child or other person using the medicine without a prescription.

      Tell your doctor if you are pregnant . Ultram may cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in a newborn.

      Do not drink alcohol. Dangerous side effects or death can occur when alcohol is combined with Ultram.

      Do not crush an Ultram tablet. This medicine is for oral (by mouth) use only. Powder from a crushed tablet should not be inhaled or diluted with liquid and injected into the body. Using this medicine by inhalation or injection can cause life-threatening side effects , overdose, or death.

      California rocket fuel is a slang term created by the psychiatric community (and some medical professionals) that refers to a combined treatment with Remeron (Mirtazapine) and Effexor (Venlafaxine).

      ]

    2. Hey Elf,

      About your question, (Something “Melvin” said before. Wasn’t he being “investigated” in another state, for doing something similar?).

      He was investigated in Iowa and had his Medical license suspended there before being hired by the VA. He didn’t fight the suspension because he was hired by the VA and received a license to practice in the state of Wisconsin.

      During his time in Iowa there were a number of investigations concerning his medical License before ultimately he license was suspended. Also during the period of time he was being investigated in Iowa, Dr. Houlihan prescribe a patient a combination of drugs known as “California Rocket Fuel” and then prescribed
      Tramadol which caused the patient to go in to sever Serotonin Syndrome.
      Dr. Houlihan even had the balls to write and publish a paper on the patient. It is titled “Serotonin Syndrome resulting from coadministration of tramadol, venlafaxine and mirtazapine.”.

      It should be noted that his stated conclusion of the article states: “Conclusion It is vital that clinicians are aware of the potential for SS when psychotropic and nonpsychotropic agents are coadministered to certain patients, such as those with both depression and chronic pain.”.

      “https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14970364”

      Dr. Houlihan knew he was going to cause Jason’s death when he gave him the fatal dose of Suboxone while he was on Tramadol.

      On Dr. Houlihan’s it lists his affilitation as Tomah so it is not clear if he was working at Tomah and the person in the paper was a veteran or if he was working in Iowa at the time the paper was published in March of 2004.

      A special word to any Veteran or any civilian if you have been prescribed Ultram (Tramadol) you need to check out the warnings available on the Web. Such as the warning posted on “https://www.drugs.com/ultram.html”, this is an extremely dangerous drug and should not be on the market.

      From Drugs.com:
      Important information
      You should not take Ultram if you have used alcohol, sedatives, tranquilizers, or narcotic medications within the past few hours.

      Ultram can slow or stop your breathing, especially when you start using this medicine or whenever your dose is changed. Never take Ultram in larger amounts, or for longer than prescribed. Do not crush or break an extended-release pill. Swallow it whole to avoid exposure to a potentially fatal dose.

      Tramadol: Top 9 Facts You Need To Consider

      Seizures (convulsions) have occurred in some people taking this medicine. Ultram may be more likely to cause a seizure if you have a history of seizures or head injury, a metabolic disorder, or if you are taking certain medicines such as antidepressants, muscle relaxers, narcotic, or medicine for nausea and vomiting

      Tramadol may be habit-forming, even at regular doses. Take this medicine exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Never share the medicine with another person. MISUSE OF NARCOTIC PAIN MEDICATION CAN CAUSE ADDICTION, OVERDOSE, OR DEATH, especially in a child or other person using the medicine without a prescription.

      Tell your doctor if you are pregnant . Ultram may cause life-threatening withdrawal symptoms in a newborn.

      Do not drink alcohol. Dangerous side effects or death can occur when alcohol is combined with Ultram.

      Do not crush an Ultram tablet. This medicine is for oral (by mouth) use only. Powder from a crushed tablet should not be inhaled or diluted with liquid and injected into the body. Using this medicine by inhalation or injection can cause life-threatening side effects, overdose, or death.

      California rocket fuel is a slang term created by the psychiatric community (and some medical professionals) that refers to a combined treatment with Remeron (Mirtazapine) and Effexor (Venlafaxine).

      ]

      1. I take Tramadol. It’s a lot less than the opiates I took waiting years for surgery. Pain is not gone but livable and the am functional most days.
        A good private surgeon said it is a touchy drug. Some patients actually don’t process it. A doc has to pay close attention to how you tolerate it. He was taught in Germany where they use it as an antidepressant too.

      2. Robin have you read any of the literature on Tramadol that was produced outside of the U.S.?

        About how it is twice as physically addictive as morphine, or read any of the studies on the brain damage caused by it’s use in animal studies.

        Is say outside of the U.S. because the research being done on it here are tainted to support it’s use.

      3. Yes. Research is out for years about it being a copy of natural opiates. Some patients don’t metabolize it or not the same as opiates.
        I luckily tolerate it well. I have stopped it cold without the effects of say Norco 10. They can do a lot of genetic testing for drug tolerance but not the VA. I had some done and I can’t tolerate a common class of drugs most can.

      4. Just have to say Robin good luck with your beliefs about Tramadol.

        Try this just do a Google News Search on the tramadol.

        “https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&authuser=0&q=Tramadol&oq=Tramadol&gs_l=news-cc.3..43j0l10j43i53.5256.6729.0.7934.8.5.0.2.2.0.211.607.2j2j1.5.0…0.0…1ac.1.Rftzy8qH9JI”

        Then go through the pages and just read the headlines on each page.

        It is not a safe drug for anyone!

      5. After knee replacement surgery, the Ortho doc have me like a 2 week supply of Percocet. When that was gone and I was still doing PT, I asked for it to be renewed because I still had a lot of pain and was trying to push hard in PT. The Doc have me Tramadol instead saying it would be much less hard on my body than Percocet.

        He told me nothing about these side effects.

  19. For him to be delusional and still claim he did a great service for Vets tells me this ASS has one HELL of a GOD SYNDROME!
    Does he have any idea how his actions have affected the prescribing of any controlled meds by the VA **and** the private healthcare sector?
    Does he know that it’s ‘more likely than not’ that Vets in his care that were ABRUPTLY cut-off their meds by VA, not even properly titrated off, have become addicted which means they may have gone even deeper down his pharmaceutical rabbit hole?

    How many of those Vets potentially took their own lives?

    What it’s effectively done is made we Vets to be looked at by Dr.’s with already an assumption of ‘drug-seeking-behavior’, more or less vilifying us through his incessant insistence that he did no harm and was innocent and still thinks he’s innocent.

    If you are reading this, you self-absorbed EX-VA WITCH DOCTOR, you should know there’s a very special place in Hell prepared JUST for YOU and no, there’s no RX for the pain you will likely endure in Hell for Eternity.

    I was being somewhat nice this morning. With coffee.

    I hear Haiti needs it’s village idiot witch Dr. back~!

    Yeah, this ass really pisses me off.

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