Jonesboro psychiatrist Nagareddy waives hearing on pill mill charges

A Jonesboro psychiatrist accused of operating a pill mill has waived his appearance at a preliminary hearing previously scheduled for Tuesday.

Dr. Narendra Nagareddy waived his right to the hearing as a condition of his $100,000 bond posted Jan. 15, the day after he was arrested on one count of illegally distributing or dispensing a controlled substance. The psychiatrist was the subject of a yearlong undercover investigation by law enforcement authorities.

According to the search warrant “36 of Nagareddy’s patients have died while being prescribed controlled substances from Dr. Nagareddy, 12 of which have been confirmed by investigators through autopsy reports to have been the result of prescription drug intoxication.”

Nagareddy was arrested at his Jonesboro office, which has been shut down by authorities. The practice's medical records were seized along with his car, home and other assets. Nagareddy was granted supervised access last week to the medical records as part of a deal struck in court. He is not allowed to practice medicine or dispense prescriptions.

An Atlanta Journal Constitution investigation found that authorities missed years of warnings about Nagareddy and that safeguards designed to protect the public didn't stop the psychiatrist from writing excessive amounts of prescriptions. Public data shows that in 2013, the Medicare Part D program received more claims from his patients for two highly addictive drugs - alprazolam and clonazepam - than those of any other Georgia psychiatrist.

A trial date has not been set yet, according to Nagareddy’s attorney Steven Frey.

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