Ballard: When it comes to the high-society people, like the pharmacists and these other doctors that were out to get money out of their patientsJeff didnt care about the money. In confessional-style interviews, Young seems to enjoy offending anyone whos shocked by his approach. Young: That was what Im going to say. Whatever the inspiration, his new persona was good for business. This is a bunch of bull crap, she said. (Court records do not contain the names of Youngs alleged victims.) (Young has denied that hed had sex with the patient who appeared to be drugged.). Calles: Oh my gosh. Rock Doc pilot testimonial: (Over heavy rock music.) Eventually Shirley Pickering, the nursing-board investigator who was looking into the allegations against Young, also grew terrified of him. Its gonna be a little cold, all right? Khazan: The first time I watched this video, I just heard Jeff making excuses. I just asked him. Am I a misogynist, or do women just like rough sex? Young asks himself in one video. But tonally, much of the footage betrays him. Some of Youngs dalliances with his patient-friends similarly took a dark turn. Updated at 10:28 p.m. (The drugmaker that is most often blamed for the epidemic doesnt agree with this assessment: Suggesting that activities that last occurred more than 16 years ago are responsible for todays complex and multifaceted opioid crisis is deeply flawed, a Purdue Pharma spokesperson, Robert Josephson, said in a statement to The New York Times for a story on this issue.). Kevin: Jeff and I are full of antics. This episode was reported by Olga Khazan and produced by Alvin Melathe. Jeffery Dale Young known as Dr. Jeff Young or Dr. Jeff is American Veterinarian and a reality TV actor. He didnt pull any punches, she said. Many people trust doctors even when theyre harmed by their treatment, and a 2008 study found that people are more likely to spend time researching a new employer or a new car than vetting a new surgeon. The lack of oversight in the Young case is in keeping with practices seen throughout the opioid crisis. As the court spent two days scrutinizing his years of alleged misdeeds, he sat mostly silently. Most doctor appointments, after all, average a nerve-racking 17 minutes, in which you spill out a complicated medical history and pray the doctor has a good solution. Ballard: I dont believe Jeff overprescribed medication. ET on January 28, 2021. 1,274 likes. Mellow and slow, it moves under the narration the way water moves through a stream.). Off camera, Young allegedly prescribed 1.4 million addictive pills and had sex with female patients. Young cared for all kinds of people, some of whom didnt have money or health insurance. Most of these doctors werent like Jeff. (Green, who has since cut ties with Young, would not comment on this when I reached him, but he told the Sun that he asked another officer to look up the information.). Khazan: The Rock Doc, Jeff Young, has been in jail for almost two years, awaiting trial. The agents seized about 350 of Youngs patient charts and every computer in the office, according to Gutgsell, the former office manager, and the notice of seizure states that about 10,000 individual doses of hydrocodone were also taken. Aggressive marketing is one piece of it. A new court filing, first reported by The Tennessean last week, portrays the Rock Doc as a menacing figure at the intersection of the opioid crisis and the #MeToo movement. They didnt try to become reality-TV stars. I asked to speak with him for this story, but because of a gag order on the case, his lawyer declined interviews with me. ), (What sounds like road noise plays in the background of a Periscope clip. He graduated from Musicians Institute in 1985, and is best known for his time with the thrash metal band Megadeth, appearing on the 1988 album So Far, So Good. Khazan: The one that caught my eye was this guy named Jeff Young, a nurse practitioner who called himself the Rock Doc, quote-unquote. In recent years, the Justice Department has started coming for unscrupulous doctors and pharmacists, too. Its heavy, and it loops. Khazan: Her husband had severe dehydration and was suffering from a heat stroke. Some speculated that it could have been drugs, alcohol, the prospect of fame, a divorce from his second wife the year after PreventaGenix launched, or a combination of all of them. Young grew up in Bethel Springs, a 700-person village near Jackson. Watching this makes me really sad, one YouTube user commented on the Rock Doc pilot in 2019. On April 17, 2019, officials swept through Appalachia, charging 53 medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. Alperovichs lawyer declined to comment.). Khazan: LaRhonda Scott Deberry is a 54-year-old former teacher who lives in Memphis. Calles: You could just tell by the demeanor that that was there. Julia Longoria: Over 20 years ago, pharmaceutical companies began to market the use of a magical pill. Five other medical providers, just in Jackson, were indicted too. A year later, the Tennessee nursing board suspended his ability to prescribe most opioids and other controlled substances for two years, saying that he had prescribed them irresponsibly. I mean, you wouldve thought they were giving away meds for free, to be honest. After the raid, Young spent the night in jail on an outstanding warrant, and PreventaGenix closed soon after. Youngs devotees have maintained for years that he was a great man on a noble mission, and that people who spoke against him didnt understand his radical approach. It was just rocked out. The next year, Jeff prescribed M.Y. Without doing a physical exam, Young diagnosed MY with chronic lower-back pain and anxiety, the letter details. In September 2014, Young, Reitz, and Patel opened their first clinic and called it PreventaGenix. But maybe, just maybe, he showed too much. In 2012, Young was working at a cardiology practice in Jackson when, with a consultant named Rich Reitz and cardiologist named Dharmesh Patel, he set up a side business giving talks to doctors about treating heart attacks and strokes. In August 2015, Young prescribed MY what the letter calls a dangerous combination of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant. She doesnt believe the allegations against him, and chalks them up to pure jealousy. One employee recalled him sometimes being too drunk to see patients. But the more time I spent thinking about it, the more I started to realize that Jeff has a point. They married in 2014 and lived right above his vet clinic in Denver. Visit our website terms of use at www.wnyc.org for further information. Then and over the ensuing months, I spoke with dozens of Youngs friends, enemies, alleged victims, and former co-workers. Federal prosecutors who charged him in a massive opioid bust say he overprescribed painkillers, often for money, notoriety, and sexual favors.. Like many actual rock stars, he flamed out on his own extravagant lifestyle. 0:04. Longoria: Pharmaceutical companies marketed these drugs aggressively to doctors. He may have that, but hes not Hes down to earth. Young: All right. had lower back pain and complained of numbness in his left arm. He made them feel comfortable in a way that no other doctor did. I accept all insurance, he told her. Young began arriving at the clinic smelling rancid, with greasy hair, and the clinics money problems mounted. (The music crescendos before playing out into the break. Even now, I cant say that. In November 2016, the health department threatened to file charges against Young before the board of nursing. Im in the middle of a life-saving procedure here. Khazan: Like, for example, here he is sniffing a pair of womens underwear with his sidekick, a friend named Kevin. Who cares? All throughout the past few months, Youngs fans have papered his Facebook wall with loving messages. Longoria: The indictment against the Rock Doc alleges that he prescribed more than a million addictive pills, treated patients while intoxicated, and used his prescribing power to have sex with womenincluding women who were his patients. So hes a little out there. Young: (Serious, and a little angry.) His case offers a unique look at the opioid crisis. They dont want to touch you unless they have to touch you. Khazan: Online, Jeff would get drunk and smoke cigars. (A meandering guitar melody enters the background. Young: (Just after another person laughs.) Young and Phillips, both longtime musicians, reveal that theyre working on some rap songs about Youngs haters, then ponder how to do gang signs. At other times, PreventaGenix staffers would stumble upon a woman he had brought to the clinic the previous night. I mean, you could just kind of tell you could trust him. Purdue voice-over: Often, it will be an opioid medication. So what? The allegations, when they started coming, though, really started coming fast. Christi Calles lived 30 miles away in Lexington. Khazan: I talked to many of Jeffs patients. As many as three women a day allegedly came to his office for sex, though one former employee said Young might have had sex with more women after hours. Naylor: I said, Go see Jeff. And she said, Id rather not. And I said, Why? And she said, Because if I go see him, hell start texting me and calling me. And I said, And wanting to go out with you? And she said, Yeah. Thats the thing. I dont wear underwear. Jeff wanted what was best for his patient. The opioid epidemicwhich appears to only be getting worsehas made clear that wherever pain exists in America, grifters will follow. 40 members in the TDBauto community. And now we see the result. But that did not put a stop to Youngs ambitions. ), (The intro to a rock song plays, with a driving, pulsing beat. Others accused me of seeking to discredit Young and slander his name. But I was willing to overlook all that, you know? Khazan: LaRhonda was skepticalbut she was also dealing with a lot of pain. Khazan: Thirty-one doctors and seven other nurse practitioners were busted in that same Justice Department sweep that caught Jeff. Of course other doctors dont write as many prescriptions, the implication seemed to be. (The case did not result in a conviction.) He tied the knot with his beautiful wife Dr. Petra. Then it fades out.). So, uh, here we are, sitting by the pool. Despite some patients praise for Young, the evidence that he routinely walked far over that line remains alarming. Youngs story raises the question of where care crosses into harm. I am a, uh, nurse practitioner. In 2014, Jeff started seeing a patient with the initials M.Y. (A long moment of music with no narration before it fades out. Thank you for listening. Rachel Fullington, an early employee of Youngs, told me Young wanted the clinics atmosphere to be loose and fun, while the others wanted it to be more buttoned-up. The patients of the nurse practitioner and aspiring reality star Jeffrey Young say he helped them like nobody else could. After the hearing, Young was jailed pending his trial, which is currently scheduled to be held this spring. To a different patient, he wrote, Come fuck me at my office right now., It is not illegal for doctors to have sex with their patients, though its considered unethical. Instead, Young began by kicking Reitz out of the business, Reitz told me. But it seemed like she wasnt the only one getting pain meds from the Rock Doc. Why would he do this? a dangerous combination of an opioid, a benzodiazepine, and a muscle relaxant. Will be glad to take the balance out of your ass. He asked another patient, to whom he prescribed the opioid hydrocodone, to come in for a checkup the following day and wear a short skirt and no panties., Young was sometimes even more direct. In another, he totters around with an empty bottle of bourbon and pans the camera over to Phillips, who is asleep on the couch. Dang, Jeff What happened? Helena Louvaris and Melanie Lupino, two of Youngs staunch defenders, both declined to speak with me when I called them back to see if they still supported him after he was jailed. One of his patients, Helena Louvaris, told me that Young saved her life by putting her on a diet plan. Jackson, Tennessee. Young is . #saturdays at noon est to hear #nikkidarling chat with the #RockDoc Jeff Young II #musicmeetmedicine Starts at 12pm est. I dont wear underwear. Some of the pills had been prescribed by Young. The Experiment is a co-production of The Atlantic and WNYC Studios. Kevin: And were going to ask our friendsour warriors out thereto put these folks in their place, because, you know, the Golden Rule. Were small enough where we still talk, Jerry Gist, who was the mayor at the time, told me. Khazan: The Rock Doc, Jeff Young, has been in jail for almost two years, awaiting trial. Scott Deberry: But after a while, when you read stuff, how many people could be wrong? But you know what? Supposedly candid confessions from Young about his life are interspersed with complimentary interviews with patients. A former employee said that staffers had to go to Youngs houseanother McMansionto drag him out of bed, and that he would occasionally arrive at the clinic drunk. Rock Doc TV. She doesnt think Young was the one who drugged her, but she believes nevertheless that she was drugged. 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