This complaint comes from a pharmacy technician who apparently noticed problems while
doing a medication reconciliation. He states that he discovered problems and went to
speak with Escalada's wife, at which point Escalada stated that he had been taking various
medications from the veterinary clinic's supply to give to his wife.
Escalada, who notes that he is a former board member back in the 1980s, states that it's easier
to self-prescribe and he gets a better price that way. He "imagine[s] self-prescribing is common
amongst practitioners" and that if he did anything wrong, he wants the board to let him know.
(He also depicts a rather sad story regarding his wife's health issues and the challenges she's
faced, particularly with respect to finding continuity of care during the pandemic.)
It appears that the board did let him know, as these kinds of things are one of the few matters
that seem to routinely get a reaction out of them. He was sentenced to take six hours of
continuing education regarding prescription drugs and client relationships, write a paper for
the board to read, and also attend one of their meetings (rather curious for a man who used to
serve on that same board). He appears to have tried to get the board to reconsider but they
wouldn't.
A.R.S. § 32-2232 (15) Distribution of prescription only drugs for other than legitimate purposes.
A.RS. § 32-2232 (26) Prescribing or dispensing any prescription drugs in the absence of a valid veterinary client patient relationship.
Penalties:
Probation (1 year)
Continuing education (3 hours in veterinary client patient relationships or medical record keeping)
Continuing education (3 hours in prescription drugs)
Write a summary of the Arizona Veterinary Practice Act
Attend a meeting of the Arizona Veterinary Medical Examining Board (Removed in amended order)
Civil penalty ($250) (Amended order)
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical
Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant
links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board
actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also
been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information
will be included here.