Dr. Anna Konopka, a New London doctor who's been fighting in the courts to reopen her practice, was dealt another disappointment this week. In a decision released Wednesday, a judge in Merrimack County Superior Court denied her motion to have her case reconsidered.
The news comes after Konopka learned just last week that she's under investigation by her local police department. The details of that investigation remain unclear.
Konopka surrendered her medical license in October to settle complaints from the New Hampshire Board of Medicine. The specific complaints are sealed, but Konopka has said they involve her prescribing of opioid pain medication.
She appealed to the courts to intervene against her agreement with the board, saying she signed it under duress and it jeopardized her patients' health.
Many of her patients are low income and suffer from complex medical conditions. A majority are also on opioids for chronic pain, she said. The pain medication is necessary to keep other symptoms in check, she said, and she insists she prescribes as low a dose as possible and does not permit abuse. Several of her patients attended her hearing in Concord, saying they're struggling to find other physicians to take them and continue prescribing painkillers. Konopka was also affordable, they say, at $50 per visit, and cared for their overall health rather without referring them to specialists.
The court ruled against Konopka in November, saying her surrender of her license had followed the standard regulatory process. She then asked the judge to reconsider, filing about 30 affidavits from patients, she said. That motion has now been denied.
Separately, Konopka said she learned from a reporter last week that the New London Police Department was investigating her. She then approached the department, which confirmed the investigation but declined to offer detail, she said. "I have no idea what was going on behind my back," she said. "This investigation has nothing to investigate."
According to the Union Leader, the investigation involves drugs. The New London Police chief was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
