Jeremy Bryson of Paintsville indicted in Pikeville on federal drug conspiracy charges

By Roberta Cantrell

BSN Editor

The son of Don Bryson, a former Paintsville doctor, who was given a 20-year prison sentence last year, has now been charged with conspiracy.

Jeremy Bryson, was indicted Friday, March 7, on charges of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to use the DEA registration number of another person, and engaging in a monetary transaction derived from criminal conduct.

Court records show Jeremy Bryson owned the Appalachian Family Medicine in Paintsville, while his father owned the building in which it was housed and worked for the clinic as a medical consultant. Authorities say Appalachian Family Medicine operated more like a pain clinic, seeing large numbers of patients who would pay $75 in cash to obtain prescriptions for opioid painkillers.

His father pleaded guilty June 21, 2024, in a Lexington courtroom, two and a half years after being charged with conspiracy to illegally distribute drugs.

Don V. Bryson, a 1979 University of Kentucky graduate of Medicine surrendered his license in 2012 after a consultant raised concerns about prescribing practices, according to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

Son, Jeremy Talmadge Bryson listed as the incorporator, maintained control of the practice, restricting the doctors from the use of urine tests or pill counts and discouraging the doctors from reducing the patient dosages.

After one doctor left in Sept. 2021, a new doctor was brought in who did not have a DEA registration number that would allow him to write prescriptions for controlled substances.

Both Bryson’s admitted to authorizing the new doctor to use the previous doctor’s registration number to write prescriptions.

Over a four-day period, the new doctor wrote a total of 76 prescriptions for more than 6900 pills using the previous doctor’s registration number.

Jeremy Bryson could face a similar sentence if he is convicted in the new case.

No date has yet been set for his first appearance in court.