Doctor testifies about Chua medical records

Dr. David Faulk, a psychiatrist from St. Simons Island, began his testimony about an earlier witness, identified by court officials as "John Doe 9."

Faulk said he treated the witness about two years ago for "medical detox." He said the patient left the program without medical advice. Faulk refused to give the patient any of the medications he requested when he left the program.

Instead, he told the patient to go to his family physician, but didn't know the patient's doctor was Chua.

Faulk also treated Carter after a friend died of a drug overdose in September 2005. A drug test of Carter showed he had opiates and cocaine in his system.

"I was treating him because he was scared," Faulk said.

Initially, Carter denied taking cocaine until doctors confronted him about the test results, he said.

Faulk prescribed a non-narcotic drug to treat Carter's headaches and another drug for "social anxiety."

During Carter's final visit on Nov. 2, 2005, about six weeks before his death, Faulk said he tested positive for opiates. Carter never showed up for any other appointments, he said.

Faulk said he would have put Carter in drug rehabilitation if he would have tested Carter and found the opiates Chua had prescribed.

Faulk said he never attempted to contact Chua to determine why he prescribed pain medication to Carter.

After Carter's death, Faulk reviewed Carter's medical records of medications prescribed by Chua. He said some of the drugs prescribed were not in Carter's medical charts.

Most doctors, Faulk said, routinely identify all prescriptions to patients to make sure they remember all the medications prescribed and ensure none of the prescriptions are duplicated.

Chua's records show one pain killer was prescribed on Nov. 15, but Carter brought the prescription to a pharmacy the day before. Other drugs were prescribed to Carter that Chua never indicated in medical records, Faulk said.

On Dec. 9, Faulk said Carter was prescribed 60 doses of methadone, which were marked in Carter's records. Chua prescribed 30 more doses two days later that were not noted in Carter's medical records, however.

He said it is unusual for medications such as Demerol and methadone not to be noted in patient records because the drugs are "closely regulated" and there is a significant risk of overdose.

"It seems it was excessive," Faulk said of medications prescribed to Carter by Chua.

Testimony by a medical expert called by the defense is scheduled to testify after jurors return from a break about 4:50 p.m. The witness testimony is expected to last about three hours, attorneys said.