FRANKFORT, Ky. — A Pike County physician assistant has had her license restricted by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure following concerns over the prescription of controlled substances.
Shelebra Barley, of Bartley Medical Weight Loss, signed an agreed order May 31, barring her from prescribing, administering or otherwise using controlled substances in her practice. The order also prevents her from acting as a physician assistant without written permission from the board or its chair; from practicing in a location that is separate from her supervising physician; from practicing with any doctor who does not have specific board certification; and from practicing outside the scope of her supervising physician’s specialty.
The board began investigating Bartley after Kentucky’s prescription tracking system KASPER noted several of her patients had been receiving long-term diet prescriptions.
A board consultant reviewed eight patient charts and determined that Bartley had violated board regulations by failing to conform to standards of acceptable and prevailing medical practice. Among those violations the consultant noted there was no record of prescribed diet or behavior modification; no record of inquiries into patients’ eating habits, weight history, menstruation history or if the patient were pregnant or breastfeeding; no records of physical exams; and no records of counseling on meal plans, exercise or behavior modification.
In response, Bartley conceded she could use additional education on the guidelines and said she has joined the Obesity Medicine Association and registered for a course on obesity treatment. She also said she hadn’t accurately documented the time and care she gave to each patient on their charts.
“My charting needs to be improved to accurately document the individual time I have spent with my patients, especially when formulating their nutritional and exercise plan,” Bartley said. “I have not documented well. I recognize if it’s not charted it has not been completed and my words today cannot accurately denote the time I have spent.”
Bartley’s license will remain restricted for an indefinite period of time.
A full copy of the order follows:
