LONGVIEW — A former PeaceHealth doctor earlier this year voluntarily surrendered his medical license upon his retirement, following a 2021 agreement with the state over allegations he diverted and took patient medication.
Until April, Kim Stoneking, 66, was a family medicine physician who worked at the PeaceHealth Lakefront Clinic in Longview. The Washington State Medical Commission began investigating Stoneking in 2020 after receiving a complaint in July of that year.
According to the statement of allegations, on June 29, 2020, Stoneking diverted a substance, the name of which was redacted, from a patient’s pill bottle. The following day, a urine drug test came back positive for a substance he wasn’t prescribed, according to the statement.
Stoneking initially denied the allegations, then later admitted he had diverted and consumed a patient’s medication, the document stated.
In Stoneking’s unsecured desk drawer, the doctor’s employer discovered pill bottles which contained patient medication, including high-dose morphine, according to the allegations. Stoneking admitted to his employer that he “routinely stored unused patient medications in his desk and would forget about them,” the document stated.
In early 2021, Stoneking agreed to resolve the complaint though what’s called a “stipulation to informal disposition,” which if not agreed to, could have been escalated to formal disciplinary action. Stoneking did not admit to any of the allegations.
The stipulation is not a formal disciplinary action and “shall not be construed as a finding of unprofessional conduct or inability to practice,” according to the document. The alleged violations outlined in the document, if proven, would have constituted unprofessional conduct, according to the state documents.
Stoneking agreed to comply with terms and conditions, which included undergoing a health evaluation, completing an ethics course, continuing medical education courses or self-study of applicable topics, submitting a paper regarding behaviors likely to indicate substance use disorder and registering with the Washington Prescription Monitoring Program.
Stoneking was also required to pay the commission $2,000 to partially reimburse the investigation costs and pay for any costs to comply with the stipulation.
In July 2021, Stoneking informed the commission he was retiring and requested to voluntarily surrender his license, which the state allows as an alternative to imposing sanctions. The surrender is permanent, and Stoneking must not resume practice, including temporary, emergency or volunteer practice, according to the state documents.
The commission reviewed the request and agreed to forgo further disciplinary proceedings, effective April 14.
