The state medical board has accused Dr. David A. Kipper, a Beverly Hills physician with a celebrity clientele, of overprescribing habit-forming drugs and running an illegal detoxification program for addicts.
Kipper, an internist with no training in addiction medicine, has offered a detoxification regimen to celebrity patients for years. Treating them in their homes or in luxury hotels, he used a variety of medications to wean addicts off drugs quickly and painlessly.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday December 24, 2003 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 2 inches; 94 words Type of Material: Correction
Addiction treatment -- An article in the Dec. 4 California section about Dr. David A. Kipper stated incorrectly that a complaint filed against him by the Medical Board of California said he had detoxified drug addicts in hotel suites. Kipper, a Beverly Hills internist, has detoxified addicts in hotels but the complaint did not cite this practice. The article also erred in stating that Kipper has no training in addiction medicine. It should have said that Kipper is not certified by the American Society of Addiction Medicine or the California Society of Addiction Medicine.
In Hollywood circles, the program was long seen as a discreet alternative to traditional drug rehabilitation, which can last months and require years of follow-up therapy.
In a complaint dated Nov. 26 and served on Kipper Wednesday, the medical board contended that he violated state health and safety codes by operating an unlicensed detox program at locations where such treatment is prohibited, including hotel suites, the estates of several patients and his Beverly Hills office.
The 44-page document also charges Kipper with gross negligence, contending that he repeatedly prescribed excessive amounts of dangerous drugs. The complaint seeks revocation of Kipper's medical license.
Kipper's patients include entertainment executives, producers, actors and musicians. The complaint cites eight patients, identified by their initials.
Kipper declined to comment. His attorney, John Harwell, said a tentative settlement that would allow Kipper to keep his license had been submitted to the board.
Board officials declined to comment on the proposed settlement.
The complaint follows a protracted legal battle between the board and Kipper, who had refused to surrender some patient records on grounds of confidentiality. Ultimately, a court ordered Kipper to turn over the files and pay a $90,000 fine plus fees.
Authorities began investigating Kipper five years ago, after an article in The Times reported that he was running an unorthodox detox program at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, next door to his office.
The article quoted Kipper as saying he had detoxified more than 40 addicts at the Peninsula and that his program, which included the use of buprenorphine, a powerful synthetic opiate, might not be "completely legal."
It was illegal to use buprenorphine for detoxification in the U.S. when Kipper was treating addicts at the Peninsula and the patients cited in the board's complaint.
