PHYSICIAN AWAITS SENTENCING ON INTERNET PRESCRIPTIONS

Doctor Issued 20,000 In 22 Months, Earning $1M In Fees

David L. Bryson believed he was practicing "a new and innovative way" of
medicine when he began prescribing drugs for customers of thepillbox.com in
1999. Patients would call him at his home in Kerrville, Tex., and describe
their aches and pains. At the end of the brief conversation, the
64-year-old physician would write a prescription, which would be filled by
the San Antonio-based Internet pharmacy.

The entire process usually took about 10 minutes. Bryson encouraged
patients to take a more active role in their care, including recommending
their own medications. If for some reason he did not give them a
prescription, they did not have to pay the $100 consulting fee.

Bryson was a prolific prescription writer, issuing 20,000 in 22 months and
collecting nearly $1 million in fees, according to records of the Texas
State Board of Medical Examiners. Most of the requests were for painkillers
and other controlled substances.

In 2001, Bryson's prescribing patterns captured the attention of the Texas
board. Judy Forgason, an expert witness for the board, testified at a
hearing that she had never seen one doctor write so many prescriptions. She
called Bryson's practice of writing prescriptions for patients he never
examined a "travesty. I think it sullies the name of all physicians."

Bryson declined to be interviewed and did not respond to a list of
questions faxed to his attorney.

However, his philosophy of prescribing can be gleaned from testimony and
hearings that ultimately led to the revocation of his medical license in 2002.

At a February hearing that year, an attorney for the medical board asked
Bryson how he knew thepillbox.com customers were not trying to scam him to
feed their addictions.

"In a telephone call, I can tell whether someone is deranged or demented or
on drugs," Bryson responded. "And so I claim that I do an effective mental
status exam.

"I've been a doctor for 30 years," he added. "I'm good on the phone."

Bryson stressed that the doses he prescribed were never more than half of
what was recommended in the Physicians' Desk Reference. Administrative law
Judge Thomas H. Walston, who oversaw the hearings, noted that Bryson
received two or more calls a month from family members alarmed about abuse.
That "likely reflected only a small percentage of the total number of
patients who were seeking drugs for recreational purposes or to support
addictions," he wrote in a report summarizing the case.

A 32-year-old thepillbox.com customer from Winchester, Va., with a history
of anxiety told a medical board investigator that he had no trouble getting
a prescription for Xanax from Bryson. He said Bryson did not ask about his
medical history or previous doctors during a telephone conversation that
lasted less than five minutes. "I could have gotten any kind of drug I
wanted with any kind of story I wanted," he told the investigator,
according to a copy of the interview transcript, which is part of the
hearing records.

Bryson was indicted in 2002 as part of a federal investigation of
thepillbox.com. Last month, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally
dispense controlled substances and is awaiting sentencing.