UPDATED Thursday, March 11, 2010 --- 5:45 p.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a University of Wisconsin Hospital pharmacist with falsifying prescriptions so he could obtain thousands of methadone tables.

Fifty-eight-year-old Joseph A. Theisen of Madison faces 25 counts of fraudulently obtaining prescription drugs. He faces up to four years in federal prison on each count.

According to federal prosecutors in Madison, Theisen obtained about 12,240 methadone tablets between 2006 and 2008 by prescribing the drug to two patients who were dead and to patients under prescription numbers issued to a different person.

Online court records had no listing of the indictment. A man who answered the phone at a residential listing for a Joseph A. Theisen in Madison declined comment and hung up.

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Posted Monday, July 13, 2009 --- 3:30 p.m.

Press Release from Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing:

Madison, WI – Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL) Secretary Celia Jackson announced today that the Pharmacy Examining Board (PEB) has accepted the surrender of the pharmacist’s license of Joseph A. Theisen and imposed a number of conditions and limitations should he ever seek licensure again.

According to the Final Decision and Order issued by the PEB on June 24th, Theisen was employed earlier this year as the managing pharmacist for the UW Health Oncology Pharmacy in Madison when he was placed on administrative leave based on suspicions he was diverting oxycodone. Theisen admitted that he diverted schedule II narcotics from his employer between November 2005 and January 2009 and practiced as a pharmacist while impaired. Theisen admits he has an opiate addiction. He has completed an intensive outpatient treatment program and continues in aftercare.

“We must be able to trust that pharmacists are practicing unimpaired when they are doing their jobs and are not mishandling or diverting drugs for their own use,” said Secretary Jackson. “This individual’s action was a major breach of trust and the rules governing his license which put patient safety at risk.”

If Theisen were to apply for a license at any time in the future, the PEB retains the discretion on whether or not to grant the license. The current Order requires that even if the Board were to decide to issue another license, Theisen would be subject to five years of intense monitoring, with immediate suspension for any violation of the Order or Board rules. The monitoring portion of the Order would require sobriety, drug treatment, drug screens and practice supervision. Theisen agreed to the PEB action.

About The Department of Regulation and Licensing:
The Department of Regulation and Licensing, and related professional boards, license and regulate 128 different types of credentials in 57 professional fields. The Department issues over nearly 50,000 new credentials and renews approximately 350,000 credential holders each biennium. The agency also provides centralized administrative services to 64 boards, councils, and advisory committees. The Department of Regulation and Licensing protects the citizens of Wisconsin by ensuring the safe and competent practice of licensed professionals through regulation, education, experience, examination, practice standards, and compliance.