A Des Moines pain-relief doctor has promised to refrain from practicing medicine while a criminal case against him works its way through the courts, his lawyer said.

Dr. Daniel Baldi

Dr. Daniel Baldi made the agreement recently with the Iowa Board of Medicine, which licenses physicians, said his lawyer, Guy Cook. The board filed administrative charges against Baldi in August, accusing him of carelessly prescribing large amounts of narcotics to patients. The board had set an Oct. 11 hearing on those charges, but the agencys staff has agreed to delay that hearing indefinitely, Cook said.

The state boards administrative charges could cost Baldi his medical license, but the doctor has bigger worries. On Sept. 5, prosecutors charged him with eight criminal counts of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly overprescribing narcotics to patients who wound up dying of overdoses. If convicted, the doctor could face prison.

Baldi, 50, denies the allegations, but Cook said he promised to refrain from practicing medicine so that the medical board would agree to hold off on its proceedings against him until the criminal process is complete.

The stipulation with the board specifically provides the agreement is not an admission of any charges or wrongdoing by Dr. Baldi, Cook said in an email last night.

Baldi helped run an Iowa Health System pain clinic, which the company closed without explanation in June. Iowa Health officials said at the time that they had suspended Baldi from the clinic before it closed. About 1,800 patients had to scramble to find new health-care providers. Some of them have hailed Baldi as a caring physician who provided relief from unrelenting pain. Others have said that he should be punished if officials prove that his recklessness caused deaths.

The case comes amid a national wave of concern over abuse of narcotic painkillers, which can lead to addiction and death. The Iowa licensing board has sanctioned several doctors in recent years for allegedly overprescribing such drugs. However, the criminal charges against Baldi are a rarity. Cook has said that no other Iowa doctor has ever faced manslaughter charges in such a case. The doctor remains free on $16,000 bond after being jailed for a few hours on the day the charges were filed.

Tags: "Iowa Board of Medicine, Dr. Daniel Baldi, Guy Cook, health, Iowa Health System

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Daniel Baldi agrees to not practice medicine with manslaugher charges pending