Indiana suspends license of Munster doctor for 1 year

MUNSTER, Ind. (AP) - State regulators have suspended the medical license of a northwestern Indiana physician accused of providing substandard care to patients, including eight who died of overdoses.

The Indiana Attorney General's Office says the Indiana State Medical Licensing Board on Thursday suspended for one year the license of Dr. Faizuddin Shareef, who practiced at NWI Medical Consultants in Munster.

The office says Shareef routinely ignored urine drug screen results indicating patients were using non-prescribed medications and illicit substances. It says some urine tests also showed patients weren't using all the drugs Shareef prescribed to them, indicating the drugs may have been distributed to others.

Shareef in December surrendered his U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration registration that enabled him legally to write prescriptions for controlled substances.

A message seeking comment was left at Shareef's practice Friday.