Medical board puts psychiatrist on probation

The Medical Board of California on Wednesday revoked the license of a Yuba City psychiatrist but stayed the revocation and imposed five years of probation, including extensive retraining.

In a settlement with the board, Thomas Jerome Lancaster admitted overprescribing medications for a patient who became addicted. According to the board's accusation against him, he prescribed 19 different drugs for the woman over five years.

Retired Sutter County Judge Timothy Evans, who was serving as a visiting judge in Yuba County in 2003, reported Lancaster to the board after awarding custody of the woman's 4-year-old child to her ex-husband.

Lancaster has a Pearsall Way address, according to the settlement document. He has an unlisted phone number and could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Robert J. Sullivan of Sacramento, did not return a phone call.

The board ordered Lancaster not to practice “solo” and to work only under the supervision of a qualified doctor. He cannot treat patients outside of his places of employment, which were listed as Enloe Medical Center in Chico, Butte County Mental Health and two agencies that work with developmentally disabled patients. He must inform all his employers of the settlement.

Lancaster must enroll in a clinical training program and take three different courses, including one in prescribing practices.

Sacramento attorney Ron Haven, who represented the patient in a lawsuit against Lancaster, said last year that his client won a “very significant settlement.”