MADISON, Wis. –The “Candy Man” cannot practice medicine in Wisconsin ever again.
That’s the ruling of the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services.
Dr. David Houlihan, the former chief of staff and acting medical director at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was fired in November 2015 following multiple reports that he oversaw a staff that overprescribed opiates. The initial story, broken by the Center for Investigative Reporting, documented the death of a 35 year-old Marine veteran who died in August 2014 of a toxic cocktail of prescription medications while at the hospital.
Houlihan was known as the “Candy Man” in and around the hospital for his alleged opioid prescription practices.
In a deal announced Wednesday, the Department of Safety and Professional Services ordered the mental health professional to permanently surrender his license and registration. Houlihan may not practice medicine in Wisconsin again and the ruling will be placed in a national physician database. In exchange, state regulators have agreed to drop their investigation into the doctor’s conduct.