When the biggest player on one team is pulled out of a game, the other is usually at an advantage. The Deparment of Health suspended the license of Dr. Joseph Hernandez in Columbia County, calling him the 5th highest prescriber of Oxycodone in Florida.
Whether the Columbia County Sheriff's Office is put at an advantage because of his suspension, is another story.
The department of health's investigation into Dr. Joseph Hernandez's Lake City clinic resulted in startling findings. What DOH is calling his over prescribing, may have killed 34 of his patients. The suspension, isn't Hernandez's first offense.
In February of 2010, he was arrested on charges of allegedly trafficking Oxycodone, but he was released and returned to his practice.
Columbia County Sheriff Mark Hunter says in order to charge the crooked doctors, it takes a lengthy investigation. The statewide drug Strike Force, Hunter says, is whats making the gain in this tough game.
No hearings have been set on the case against Dr. Hernandez.