Virginia Board Reprimands, Fines Psychiatrist Sabah Mehdi Hadi over Prescribing Violations

January 21, 2026

On July 25, 2024, the Virginia Board of Medicine reprimanded Ashburn psychiatrist Sabah Hadi, and imposed a monetary penalty of $10,000 for violating certain laws and regulations governing the practice of medicine in the Commonwealth of Virginia. 

A June 14, 2024 formal administrative hearing established that Hadi violated the Virginia Codes regarding emergency regulations governing prescribing of opioids and buprenorphine; regulations governing the prescribing of opioids and buprenorphine; and regulations governing the practice of medicine. 

During the hearing, Hadi admitted that his handwriting was poor and that he had a difficult time reading his own patient records, and yet he continued to handwrite his patient records. He also admitted that his patient records are substandard. 

Hadi willfully refused to provide transcripts of his illegible handwritten patient records for patients A, B, C, D, E, F, G and Individual 1 upon repeated requests of a Department of Health Professions (DHP) investigator. He refused to answer the DHP investigator’s specific questions regarding his treatment of these patients and regarding his practice, as requested on several occasions.

Background:

Patient A: Between December 27, 2016 and July 29, 2019, Hadi prescribed buprenorphine and clonazepam without documenting extenuating circumstances or a tapering plan to achieve the lowest possible effective doses. He failed to maintain legible medical records for Patient A.

Patient B: Between April 24, 2018 and April 10, 2020, Hadi failed to check Patient B’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP) report until April 16, 2020. He failed to maintain legible medical records for Patient B. 

Patient C: Patient C told Hadi she had been receiving stimulants from another treating provider. Hadi prescribed her stimulants without obtaining and reviewing relevant medical records from the prior treating provider and/or otherwise verifying that she recently received prescribed stimulants. Hadi failed to maintain legible medical records for Patient C.

Patient D: Between August 4, 2017 and July 15, 2019, Hadi concomitantly prescribed buprenorphine and benzodiazepines, including clonazepam and alprazolam (both C-IV), without documenting extenuating circumstances or a tapering plan to achieve the lower possible effective doses. Hadi checked Patient D’s PMP report only once during her treatment. He failed to maintain legible medical records for Patient D.

Patient E: In his treatment of Patient E, Hadi failed to maintain legible medical records for Patient E.

Patient F: Hadi prescribed stimulants to Patient F between March 13, 20015 and April 4, 2021, without obtaining and reviewing relevant medical records from prior treating providers. According to his statement to a DHP investigator dated April 26, 2021, Hadi terminated Patient F on March 4, 2021, but failed to provide Patient F with documented notice that allowed for reasonable time to obtain the services of another practitioner.

Patient G: On December 31, 2019, Hadi wrote and transmitted prescriptions to pharmacy for Klonopin and for Bunavil, he failed to indicate the dosage form for Klonopin or complete strength and dosage form for Bunavil. When a pharmacist contacted Hadi by telephone to clarify the prescription for a patient, Hadi became agitated and told the pharmacist never to contact him again regarding his prescriptions.

Hadi obtained confidential PMP data for unauthorized purposes and his own benefit, rather than for the purposes of patient care:

On April 16, 2020, he accessed Patient A’s PMP data even though Patient A’s last documented office visit was in July 2019.

On August 14, 2018 and April 21, 2020, he accessed Patient C’s PMP data even though Patient C’s last documented visit was in February 2018.

On April 21, 2020, Hadi accessed the PMP data of Individual 1, who was not actually his patient. 

On April 1, 2021, Hadi accessed the PMP data of Patient F, even though the last documented office visit with Patient F was on March 4, 2021.

Source: Order in re: Sabah Mehdi Hadi, M.D., license no. 0101-059359, case no. 197819, 199222, 201680, 202218, 210514, Before the Virginia Board of Medicine, July 24, 2024.